Heartache & Revolution
by shouvley
Summary: When Jeb suddenly dies, what will happen when Maggie takes over and tries to get rid of Wanda and Sunny? Melanie POV
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I am currently working on a sequel to A Million Reasons but I have horrible writers block. This story is coming relatively easier so I decided to post it and hope that when I get over my writers block I can handle two very different stories with the same characters at the same time. This is not in the same universe as A Million Reasons so for those of you who have read it don't get confused. This takes place just after the events of the Host…maybe 6 months to a year later. _

_I noticed there's a lack of fics from Melanie's POV. I find that sad because she's one of my favorites so I had to make her the star of mine. Hope you enjoy!_

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I woke with a start. I had been having a strange dream. Not exactly a bad dream, just different. I hadn't been having many nightmares lately, mostly because there weren't a lot of things that scared me anymore. As long as Jared and Jamie were safe I was happy. The only thing that could go wrong would be to lose one of them, and that thought was so horrible I didn't even allow myself to dream it.

I rolled over to face Jared, still soundly asleep. It was probably too early to be awake but I would use this extra time just to stare at him. It was refreshing to be able to look at him through my eyes without a filter. No matter how many times Wanda looked at Jared through my eyes it was never quite the same as when I saw him myself. I counted his breaths, thankful for every one. I gently laid my head on his chest to hear his heartbeat. Constant, steady. Much the way our love was. Always present, never wavering or faltering. Even when it looked like we would never see each other again, we vowed to love each other no matter what. And neither of us went back on our promise.

I pulled my head back to look at him and as I did so my hair brushed across his face. He stirred, looking for the sensation that had woken him. He saw me leaning back onto the mattress and smiled widely. Wordlessly he sat up on his elbow and leaned in to kiss me.

His kisses never failed to surprise me. He would vary the intensity so that I would never know whether it was going to be a sweet, thoughtful kiss or a hot, intense kiss. I had tried to decide which I preferred and in truth it did not matter. Just the fact that I was kissing Jared was enough for me.

That morning he opted for a sweet kiss, which was a welcome change from the hot night we'd had previously. He softly touched his lips to mine, moving his free hand to my face. His lips moved over mine as he whispered, "Good morning." I smiled at him and moved my hands to his sides. He pressed his lips firmly against mine and shift so he was above me. Our legs intertwined as he opened his lips to allow me access. I ran my tongue across his lower lip and pulled it into my mouth. He let out a satisfied grunt and moved his hand to my waist. He started to pull up my shirt when there was a knock at the door.

I groaned and pushed Jared back a little. "Who is it?" I asked, knowing full well it was Jamie at the door.

"It's me," he answered. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," I answered as Jared rolled back onto his side of the bed. I gave him an apologetic look, knowing that he wasn't enthused that Jamie made these early morning visits. More than once he'd asked him to wait until breakfast but he rarely could. At least we had trained him to knock. That was an interesting morning when he learned that lesson.

Jamie bounded into the room and jumped on to the bed with us. "Morning," he said brightly.

"Morning, kid," Jared replied as he sat up, stretching. He wasn't going to punish Jamie just because he loved us. He made an effort to get out of bed but I wasn't ready to officially start the day just yet so I put a hand on his forearm, holding him with me. He understood my meaning and smiled. He didn't want to start the day yet either.

I turned my attention to Jamie. "What's up?" I asked him. "How did you sleep?"

He took a deep breath and I knew I was in for a rant. Jamie wasn't the biggest fan of his new room, a fact which he reminded of frequently. "Not good," he started. "Aaron is still snoring. I swear it's getting louder. Those strips Wanda got him on the last raid are not helping. And Brandt is all over the place. His bed is 3 feet from mine and he still manages to kick me at least twice a night. Are you sure I can't move back in with you?" He gave me his best puppy dog eyes but I would not be swayed.

"Absolutely not," I answered firmly. "We've been over this. You cannot stay with us. I'll try to help you find somewhere else to sleep if you want me to but this room is not an option."

He stared at me. He was trying to look hurt but I knew he wasn't. We had been over this too many times for this to be news to him. He was just trying to wear me down now. However, he had no idea of my resolve when it came to keep my private space with Jared.

Things weren't that bad with Brandt and Aaron. He was just going to have to toughen up. He'd slept in worse places before and he knew it. He turned his eyes to Jared, though he knew it was a lost cause. It had been Jared's idea to kick him out in the first place.

"You heard her kid," Jared said, shrugging his shoulders. He shifted out of my reach and got out of bed. He was stretching and his back cracked in several places.

I chuckled to myself. It was a long running joke that Jared was becoming an old man. He had just turned 30 so he was moving out of the younger group and into the older one. We had been teasing him lately that he fit in better with Jeb and Maggie than he did with the rest of us. His back cracking was just adding fuel to the fire.

Finally I decided to heave myself out of bed. I still wasn't quite ready to be up yet but I wanted breakfast. I dressed and brushed my teeth in the bowl we kept in our room for just such a purpose. When I was finished getting ready Jamie and I walked arm in arm to the kitchen to hunt down our meal.

Life in the caves continued much the same as it had before. We turned the fields, planted the crops, and harvested the final products. That day we were scheduled to turn the south field, getting ready to plant lettuce. It was me, Jared, Kyle, Sunny, Brandt, Lily, and Ian turning in the morning, with Wanda, Trudy, Aaron, and Heath planting in the afternoon. We knew Sunny wouldn't be much help with the manual labor but she still wasn't comfortable being away from Kyle. We made our way to the field and I grabbed the first shovel I saw. I was anxious to get to work.

We were getting ready to take our lunch break when Jeb came around to see how we were doing. He appeared to be checking the field for clumps. Did he not trust us to do our job? I knew he did of course, but he still had to remind everyone who was boss. I couldn't disagree with that. When he was finished with his round Lacey was coming in with water for everyone. I dropped my shovel and grabbed two cups, one for me and one for Jared. I couldn't help but give Lacey a glare. She was kind of annoying in her own right, but I also remembered the soul that occupied her mind. And I wanted nothing to do with either one of them. I tried to keep my distance at all times.

I walked to where Jared with sitting against a wall and handed him his water. It was especially hot today so I made sure he drained every drop. He handed his cup back to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and closed my eyes. It had been a long morning so far and we were only half finished. We sat in silence, resting against each other, Jared absently tracing circles on my shoulder. The rest of the group was sitting on the other side of the field discussing planting.

After a little while I heard Jeb's voice drifting across the room. "All right, naptime's over. Get back to work."

I sighed and opened my eyes. I squinted, adjusting to the light. I scanned the room making sure the others were moving too. No sense in being the first one back. I glanced at Jeb and something about his expression drew my attention. He had a strange look on his face. Not like pain, just confusion. As I stared he moved a hand to his temple and started rubbing it. I started toward him, worried. He didn't look right. When I was halfway across the field he clutched his skull with both hands and fell to the ground.

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_A/N: Poor Jeb. I feel bad about killing him off but there wouldn't be much of a story if I didn't. Reviews are always appreciated, and I'm really making an effort to reply and return them. Keep reading, this is going to get dramatic._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: 5 reviews already? That's amazing. Thanks to christinesangel100, Madusa and The 'Wizard', Someone aka Me, SnowChika, and vampire's kisses 4 me. You guys are awesome!_

_As you probably already know I am not Stephenie Meyer and these characters don't belong to me. Sad but true.  


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_"JEB?!?!?" I yelled, sprinting the last few steps. I stooped next to him and rolled him over onto his back. I put my face down to his to see if he was breathing. He wasn't. Jared, Brandt, and Ian were just reaching me, not noticing what was going on at first. I looked up at Jared.

"He's not breathing," I said my eyes misting.

"What happened?" Jared asked urgently.

"I don't know. He looked like he might have a headache, then he grabbed his head and fell over." My hands were shaking and my tears were starting to spill over.

Jared knelt down and started CPR. He turned to me. "Go get Doc!"

I nodded and sprinted out of the room. I wove through the caves, barreling past questioning faces to the hospital, my mind racing faster than my legs. What had happened to him? Would he be alright? Was there anything Doc could do? All of these questions spurred me on faster. Doc must have heard my approach as he was already standing, reaching for his bag when I entered the room. "Jeb collapsed," was all I said before turning to run back. To my surprise Doc kept pace, even overtaking me the last few strides.

He threw his bag down and knelt next to Jeb. Jared shifted back to stay out of Doc's way. "No, keep going," Doc instructed as he pulled several things out of his bag. I paced back and forth, tears spilling over. Ian set a hand on my shoulder and before I knew what I was doing I turned to him and sobbed into his chest. Ian seemed surprised but wrapped his arms around me anyway. I didn't worry that this was a left over effect from when Wanda and I cohabitated (which was the word we had chosen to describe our experience). Anyone would have been fine with me. I needed comfort and Jared was occupied.

After an amount of time – I wasn't sure how long – Doc rocked back on his heels and looked up at me with a somber expression. I started shaking my head. I couldn't – wouldn't – believe it.

"Melanie…" Doc began.

"No," I cut him off firmly. "You're not trying hard enough. He's just unconscious. He'll wake up eventually. Just give him some time. He'll be fine."

Doc shook his head lightly. He put his hand on my shoulder and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry."

A fresh wave of sobs broke over me as I sunk to the ground, my legs unable to support this new weight that had just been shoved onto me. Ian followed me down and held me in his lap. The man who was more of a father to me than my own was dead. And I hadn't had the opportunity to say goodbye. What was I going to do with him? What were _we_ going to do without him?

I felt myself being pulled away from Ian and I found myself cradled in Jared's arms. I stayed there in the field sobbing until my eyes dried out. I vaguely remembered Doc asking Brandt and Kyle to move Jeb to the hospital and reaching out for him as they walked away.

When I felt like I could breathe again I opened my eyes and looked at Jared. He looked dejected and tried to meet my eyes with a smile that never came. I sat up and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. I took a deep breath and sniffed loudly. Jared's smile appeared slightly, no doubt reveling in my humanness as he was prone to doing lately.

"What now?" I asked him in a whisper. Talking about it in a normal voice made it seem too real.

"Dinner?" he asked me. He knew I wasn't ready to have this conversation so he deferred and I was grateful. I figured food would help so I wouldn't feel so empty, both physically and emotionally. I did my best to smile and got to my feet slowly. I was sore not only from working in the fields earlier but from sobbing for so long. The muscles in my chest felt worn out from all the hyperventilating. Jared stood and took my hand as we walked to the kitchen.

I stopped abruptly when I realized that I had no desire to see anyone. Jared guessed this and whispered in my ear, "It's pretty late. There shouldn't be anyone there." He kissed me lightly on the cheek as we started again.

How long had I been crying that dinner was over? And Jared had stayed with me the entire time. I didn't know how I deserved a man so wonderful. Another thought occurred to me. "Jamie?" I asked, knowing he didn't need more than one word to know my meaning.

"Ian talked to him and he's going to stay with Wanda and Ian for awhile." I hadn't heard Ian tell Jared any of this? I was angry at myself for not paying better attention.

We entered the kitchen and as Jared predicted it was empty. He sat me down and went to find us some food. He returned with some cold soup and some bread for each of us. It wasn't very good but I didn't feel as empty. I inhaled it quickly and Jared got up to get me another helping.

"No, I don't need more," I assured him. "We don't want to waste any food."

"We're not wasting. There's more than enough. And after the day you've had you're entitled to a little extra." He smiled again but it did not reach his eyes. It was horrible to see a smile so grim it looked like a frown. He walked around the counter again and when he returned he had my soup and something extra in his hand. A Twinkie? Where did he get that? I eyed him suspiciously and he feigned innocence.

"Look what I found in the back of a cupboard." He tossed it to me and I waited until I was finished before I questioned him.

"And how long have you known it was in the back of the cupboard?" I asked, doubtful.

"Not long," he answered avoiding my question. If it wasn't so obvious he was trying to divert my attention it might have worked.

I smiled at him, not taking the bait to start a sarcastic argument. I just didn't have the emotional stamina today. "Thank you." I took his hand across the table and held it while I ate my second bowl. When I was finished we walked back to our room for what I was sure was going to be a long night.

We were only a few feet from our room when I heard a sniffle behind me. I turned and saw Jamie standing in the doorway of Ian and Wanda's room. His eyes were red from crying and his cheeks were tear-stained though there were no fresh tears on his face. Did I look the same way? I closed the distance between us and pulled him into my arms as we both broke into new sobs.

Wanda appeared at the door, her eyes bloodshot from crying as well, and gave me a questioning look, wanting to know if I wanted her to take Jamie back into her room. I shook my head knowing that right now we needed each other. I held my hand out to her and she took it, joining in our hug. We stood there for at least ten minutes crying silently in the hall. Jared waited patiently against the wall for one of us to move.

Eventually Ian came out of his room and stood next to Jared. "Shouldn't they go to bed? It's been a long day," Ian asked.

"They need to cry more than they need to sleep," was Jared's simple answer.

This exchange reminded me that Jamie really did need to sleep. There was no sense in keeping him up all night crying. It wasn't going to help anything. I picked my face up off of Jamie's shoulder and loosened my grip on Wanda, taking a deep breath. Wanda understood what this meant, gave me a weak smile and held her hand out to Ian as they went back into their room.

Neither Jamie nor I spoke as Jared led us to our room and laid us on the bed. He pulled a blanket from the bed and spread it on the floor. I wasn't quite so incoherent this time and I knew he intended to sleep on the floor.

"Jared, don't sleep on the floor," I said. "There's room for the three of us tonight." Jamie heard my words and pressed himself as close to the wall as possible to make room. Jared contemplated this for a moment then joined us in the bed. He wrapped his arms around me and moved his fingers through my hair as I held Jamie as tightly as possible. Jared's head hovered over mine as he kissed my forehead whenever a new wave of grief broke through. I was on the edge of sleep when I felt a single tear fall on my cheek.

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_A/N: Isn't Jared the best? He's hurting too but he knows Melanie needs him so he's strong for her. Enter him in the running for the perfect man right there._


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

_A/N: So to the five people I thanked last chapter, go ahead and triple that thanks. Not just double, triple. Yeah I'm that generous with my thanks haha. Want to start your own thanks stockpile? Reviews are a great way to get them. (EdwardAlways and crazi4thecullens are starting them. Don't you want to be part of the movement?)_

_If any of you are interested I wrote a one-shot about the first time Leah phased from Sam's point of view. I personally think it's really good, but I might be a little biased. If you want to read it (and review of course :P) that would be awesome._

_Disclaimer (Using the transitive property):  
**I am** wrote this story.  
**Stephenie Meyer** did **not** write this story.  
Therefore, **I am not Stephenie Meyer**.  
(and I own none of this)

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_I woke the next morning in a sweat. I was between Jamie and Jared and their body heat was smothering me. I took a deep breath to clear my throat of the tears I cried in my sleep. I rolled over, shifting without moving either of my sleeping boys. I faced Jared and saw his tear-stained face. I knew that it wasn't fair of me to make myself the center of everything when he was in just as much pain as I was. I moved my hand to the side of his face to comfort the sorrow on his sleeping expression. He leaned into my hand and his eyes fluttered. He took a deep breath, deciding if he had any desire to open his eyes and admit that a new day had arrived. He decided to open them and stared at me, searching for the reason I had woken him. When he realized it was just my desire to see him looking back at me he relaxed and smiled slightly.

"How are you?" he whispered running his hands through my hair.

"Well," I thought for a moment before I answered. "It's not worse." That would have to be enough for now. "I need to go see Doc," I told him. "I need some answers."

"I figured you would," he responded. "I don't know if he'll be able to give them to you just yet though. He was pretty broken up about it too. I doubt he's really done any investigating yet." I noticed Jared didn't use the word autopsy and I was thankful. I shivered at the thought of it.

At that point Jamie started stirring and rolled to face me. I rolled onto my back and put my arm around him. I tried to straighten his hair but it was too wild. He looked up at me, his tears threatening to spill over again.

"What's going to happen now?" he asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I think we're just going to have to go with the flow for awhile." I wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of my hand. "Everything's going to be fine, you know. Sure it's going to be different. But in time everything is going to be ok."

He gave me a quick smile when I heard his rumbling stomach. "Hungry?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not really hungry enough to get up yet."

Jared rolled and looked at the clock on the dresser across the room. "It's still pretty early. If we went to eat now we'd probably miss most of the crowd."

Jamie contemplated briefly before practically jumping out of bed. He _was_ hungry. He just didn't want to see anyone. I exited the bed quickly too. The sooner we ate the sooner I could talk to Doc.

H&R H&R H&R H&R H&R H&R H&R H&R H&R H&R

After we ate (thankfully alone) Jared and I made our way to the hospital. Jamie said he wanted to come but I could tell he was scared of seeing Jeb's body. He seemed relieved when I told him it was a good idea he didn't go.

I knew Doc would be waiting. As we entered he got up from his desk and walked over to me and put his hand on my forearm as a sign of sympathy.

"How are you doing?" he asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "As well as can be expected I guess." I was certain I didn't have to go into all the gory details of my grief with Doc. He understood. "Have you found out what happened yet?"

Doc shook his head. "No, I was just about start. I was waiting for Candy to arrive; she offered to help." I nodded. Candy was the obvious choice to help, although her training as a healer to souls probably did not include human autopsy. I cringed even thinking the word.

"Do you have any theories at all?" Jared inquired, wishing we could get the information all at once rather than the piecemeal that was certain to follow now.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't. There's quite a few things that could cause a collapse like that and unfortunately they are all located in different parts of the body so it will take some time to find the right one."

"What are the options?" I pushed. I knew I shouldn't have been so abrupt but my stress level was depleting my courtesy reserves.

Doc took a deep breath and contemplated before he answered. "Heart attack, stroke, aneurism, pulmonary embolism, just to name a few," he stated calmly. I knew most of those words, enough to be scared of them. The ones that I didn't know terrified me even more.

At that moment Candy walked in and came over to Jared and me with a look of sympathy on her face. I wanted to ask her to stop, that this would just make it worse, but I knew I would have to get used to people offering their condolences. It would be happening quite a bit over the next few days.

"Melanie, I'm so sorry," she offered.

I thanked her graciously then steered the conversation back to my cause. "Thank you for volunteering to help Doc. It will really help to know what caused all of this."

"Oh, you're welcome," she replied. "Anything I can do to help." She smiled at me and turned to Doc.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Just about, I just need to get a few things together." He started rounding the room picking up instruments and books as he went. He returned to the center procedure table with his arms full. He set his load on the side table and began arranging things. I suddenly realized I could not be in the room for this. Without a word I rushed out of the room and into the hall. Jared followed and put a hand on my shoulder when I stopped.

"I just can't watch that," I said, barely above a whisper.

Jared nodded. "Why don't you go take a bath? I'll come find you when we know something." He put a hand to my cheek as I nodded. I kissed him lightly and started back to our room to get some clean clothes and soap.

When I got into the water it was glorious. I never thought it was possible to reverse my mood so quickly. I stayed in the water long after my fingers pruned just to hang on to that feeling. As much as I hated to admit it I hoped Jared would never come and I could stay in this state of bliss forever. I leaned back on the wall, closed my eyes to listen to the water rushing in the next room, and tried my best not to think.

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_A/N: It's finals week next week so I probably won't get anything else up before I go home for Thanksgiving break. And since I rarely do any writing when I'm at home I may not update for awhile. If I don't post anything else before next Friday enjoy the Twilight movie!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I said I wouldn't probably wouldn't post anything until after my finals were over, but then I found out I only needed 41% on one of my finals so I was left with a lot of extra time (not as much as I took but that's ok haha). So here it is, chapter 4. And I'm not lying when I say the next one will be awhile, I'm scheduled to work five 10 hours days over break so I won't even be near my computer for most of the day. Plus I'll be home and I'll be able to see my friends, and long story short, I'll probably only check my email once a day so the prospect of me writing is slim to none haha._

_Sorry in advance for the medical speak in the middle of the chapter. I've been learning all of this in school lately so I felt the need to include it. If you learn something congratulations, if you don't then remember it is just doctor speak and who understands what doctors say most of the time anyway?_

_Fanpire101, vampire's kisses 4 me, Someone aka Me, and SnowChika are geniuses. They've mastered the art of hitting the review button at the end of the chapter. You should give it a try too._

_Disclaimer: No witty message this time. Just don't sue me, I know they're not mine.

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_I must have fallen asleep. I was startled awake when I his voice calling my name.

"Mel?" Jared's voice called from directly outside. I struggled to wake myself up but it was talking longer than usual to come out of my garbled haze. I blinked deliberately to get my eyes to focus and saw Jared standing in the doorway.

"Yeah?" I asked, yawning and stretching my arms.

Jared chuckled. "Sleepy?"

"Yes, very," I replied. "But I might move faster if you join me in here. I could use some help waking up." I didn't know what had gotten into me. Usually I wasn't so bold.

Jared seemed surprised as well, but I could see a smile crossing his face. He moved into the room and kneeled behind me, placing his hands on my bare shoulders. I expected him to start rubbing them but he moved one hand to the base of my hair and grabbed a handful, pulling my head back and exposing my neck.

He helped himself, running his lips over the length of my neck while moving his other hand to the side of my face. He moved his attention to my lips and we connected with a spark. Our faces were opposite, with my nose hitting his chin, and it was a new experience that I enjoyed. I moved my hands to his shoulders and tried to pull him into the water with me.

He laughed quietly and pulled back. "Sorry, Mel," he said. "Doc is expecting us back."

I pulled him back in for another kiss as I spoke. "It won't take that long."

He pulled away again and chuckled. "I resent that. It would take a very long time. Hours, days even."

I laughed and tried to kiss him again. "Come on. Just a quickie?" I asked in my most seductive voice.

He grunted slightly. "Trust me, you want to wait until tonight. It'll be worth it." He kissed me lightly and stood to move out of my reach. I knew that if I kept in contact with him I would be able to change his mind, which was exactly why he moved.

I groaned and dragged myself out of the water. Jared was waiting with my towel. I held my hand out to take it from him but he started toweling me off himself, starting at my feet and moving up slowly, lingering in all the right places. It felt so good that I let out more than one moan wishing he had taken me up on my previous offer. When he was finished he wrapped the towel around me and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.

"That was just a preview," he whispered into my ear, the warm air tickling and causing me to do something I rarely did, giggle. He straightened and took one of my hands. "Now get dressed so we can go see Doc. I'm sure he's getting impatient."

"Did he find out what happened?" I asked as I dressed.

"I think he knows, but he didn't tell me. He wanted me to get you and he sent Candy to get Maggie and Sharon. I guess he wants to tell everyone together."

As Jared and I made our way to the hospital we passed several people who offered their condolences and I accepted them as gracefully as I could. The only person that caused me to tear up a bit was Kyle. I wasn't sure why but seeing him look vulnerable made me feel vulnerable too. Sunny offered her sympathy also, although I wasn't entirely sure she wasn't happy that she wasn't going to be seeing the rifle again.

Jared and I were the last to arrive. Maggie was sitting in Doc's desk chair and Sharon was sitting on the desk itself. Jared and I stood behind the pair of them waiting for Doc to begin talking.

"Melanie, do you think Jamie will want to be here for this?" Doc asked me.

I shook my head. "No, I think he'll be happier if I tell him later."

"Ok, be sure to let him know I'll talk to him about this whenever he wants." Doc smiled at me and I did my best to smile back but I just wanted to hear the answers to my questions.

Doc understood this and wasted no time, switching into empathetic physician mode, no doubt a skill drilled into him from medical school. "Candy and I did an autopsy on Jeb and checked for quite a few things that can cause a collapse like that. We checked for a heart attack but his heart muscle was uncorrupted and his coronary vessels were not occluded.

"Next we checked the lungs for a pulmonary embolism which is a blood clot that blocks blood flow in the lungs and keeps oxygen from getting to the rest of the body. We didn't find anything along those lines either.

"We checked for a stroke, a tumor, even a seizure and they call came back negative.

"It took awhile to find it, because it is fairly uncommon compared to heart attacks and strokes, but he did find the cause of his death."

I spurred him on when he paused momentarily. "What was it?"

"It was a brain aneurism. Basically he had a blood vessel in his brain that exploded. His death was probably instantaneous." He looked at all of us, judging our reactions.

"So it wasn't an infection?" Maggie asked. "Nothing contagious?" I then understood the concerned look on her face, and also why I hadn't seen her since it happened. She thought that whatever had killed Jeb could be killing her too. I was impressed she had allowed herself to be in the same room as a possible infectious agent. I was glad that thought hadn't crossed my mind; I would never have been even close to calm thinking that the rest of my family was in danger.

"No," Doc replied. "It was something that had been there his entire life and for some reason it burst yesterday."

"And you don't know what caused it?" Sharon asked.

"Usually nothing causes it. It's just bad luck," he replied hoping that would be enough to satisfy her question. She nodded slightly and he knew he had. I also caught her winking at him. I smiled slightly and kicked at the dirt on the floor. I was glad that Doc and Sharon were so happy. They both deserved it. Well Doc deserved it more than she did but she was my cousin so I couldn't say I wanted her to be unhappy.

"Is there anything else?" Jared asked.

"Not really," Doc replied. "Other than the aneurism he was in perfect health. He could have kept going for another fifteen or twenty years, easy." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry, this is a great loss."

"Yes," Maggie agreed with him. She stood up so she was addressing all of us. "We need to tell everyone else the news and we also need to find a place to bury him." We all nodded. "And we should plan a memorial or something. In the game room? Tonight?" She phrased these as questions but we knew she had already decided and that we had no say in the matter. I didn't really mind though; I was in no mood to be thinking about these things.

Jared and I left the hospital and headed to Wanda and Ian's room. Jamie was with them so we would talk to the three of them together. As we walked I thought about Maggie's instructions and they just didn't sit well with me. It seemed like she had already decided that she was in charge now, which she wasn't. Right?

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_A/N: So, again, enjoy the Twilight movie! I look forward to hearing everyone's reactions. Remember, if anything seems too different you're allowed to yell "What the hell is this?" in the middle of the theater. People will laugh haha.  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I realized that I've barely mentioned Wanda at all so far, so this chapter features her pretty prominently. Yay! (There's also a mention of some Ian/Wanda action, though sadly no description. From Mel's POV that would be a little too voyeuristic haha.)_

_People who rock: Someone aka Me, EdwardAlways, shimmershadow30, Fanpire101, JmacKarla, and SnowChika.  
People who rock slightly less: those of you who read and don't review. You know you want to rock._

_Disclaimer: What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? I wish it could be that I own these characters but it's not.  


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__Chapter 4 Recap:_

_Jared and I left the hospital and headed to Wanda and Ian's room. Jamie was with them so we would talk to the three of them together. As we walked I thought about Maggie's instructions and they just didn't sit well with me. It seemed like she had already decided that she was in charge now, which she wasn't. Right? _

Chapter 5

I halted in my tracks. I hadn't even considered who was going to be in charge now.

Jared turned to me, questioning my sudden stop. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing really. I just realized that with Jeb gone we don't have anyone in charge."

He smiled at me. "Don't worry. We're discussing it tonight after the memorial." He kissed me on the cheek.

I smirked. "You think of everything don't you?"

"Why yes I do," he replied, full of himself. He took my hand and we continued to Wanda and Ian's room.

I knocked once then pushed the door out of the way just in time to see Wanda dive behind the bed, shirtless. Ian looked stunned lying on the mattress, his hands still in the air from where they had been resting on Wanda hips. I was then aware that I probably should have waited for permission to enter the room.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," I said as I turned on my heels and pushed Jared back out the door. I snickered slightly while I heard murmuring and thud followed by an obscenity. Apparently Ian had run into a piece of furniture.

After what felt like forever, Ian was opening the door in a huff. "Do you need something?" he asked rudely, obviously angry that I had interrupted whatever had been about to happen.

"Ian!" Wanda scolded, now fully clothed, "Be nice." He looked at her and sighed, resigned.

"Come on in," he said less than enthusiastically. He stepped out of the way and allowed Jared and I to enter. I stepped through the doorway and gave Wanda an apologetic look. She blushed and hid behind Ian. He pulled her around so that she was next to him and kept his arm around her waist. She made eye contact with Jared and that caused her to bury her face in Ian's chest.

"Wanda, honey, it's alright," Ian said, trying to coax her out from hiding. "It's not a big deal."

"I know," she replied, still facing into him. "I'm just embarrassed."

Ian turned to face her and pulled her chin up to look him in the eyes. "There is no reason to be embarrassed. It's all Melanie's fault, she just barged in."

I laughed and Wanda relaxed slightly though she still kept her eyes on the floor.

"We just wanted to talk to you about Jeb," Jared started. "Where's Jamie?"

"Oh, he went to eat with Heath and Aaron. When it gets dark he's going to go out with them to start digging," Ian replied. I was about to ask what he meant when it hit me. The grave. I took a deep breath to calm my suddenly racing heart. Jamie shouldn't have to help with that but at the same time I was proud of him for volunteering.

"And you decided instead of helping them that you'd be of more use here?" Jared laughed. Wanda shrunk into Ian's side again. Jared turned to her, "I'm just joking, Wanda. Seriously, it's not a big deal." He paused slightly to change gears. "Anyway, we just came to tell you that Doc finished Jeb's autopsy and it looks like he blew a brain aneurism. Nothing contagious, nothing that could have been prevented, just bad luck."

"Thanks for coming to tell us," Wanda said, looking like tears were threatening to spill over again. "When is the memorial?"

"Tonight," I replied. Then I added, "Maggie decided that would be the right time."

Ian made a sound of disgust. "She's on a power trip already isn't she?" he asked Jared.

Jared chuckled. "Yeah, it looks that way." He looked at me. "I think I'm going to go outside and check how the guys are doing and let them know what's going on."

I nodded. "Be careful when you tell Jamie," I reminded.

"Not that I have to but you know that I will." He kissed me on the cheek and turned to leave.

"I'll go too," Ian said, kissing Wanda's forehead before bounding out of the room after Jared.

Wanda just stared after him, confused by his sudden departure. I didn't let her brood for too long. I sat down on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to me. We hadn't talked in such a long time so now would be the perfect time to catch up. She sat on the mattress and I turned my body so I was facing her, but she stayed facing forward.

"How are you doing?" I asked her.

"Good," she replied, her throat thick with tears she was holding back.

"Wanda, you can't lie, especially to me. You're not taking this well are you?" I took her hand into mine and tried to get her to look at me.

She avoided my eyes as she responded. "It just never crossed my mind. All of this worrying about keeping everyone safe from being discovered by the Seekers and I never even thought about something like this happening." Her tears spilled over and she looked at me with agony on her face. "What if something like this happens to Ian, or Jamie, or Jared, or anyone else? I can't walk around everyday thinking about this." She was rambling and I knew I had to stop her.

"Wanda, sweetheart, nothing is going to happen to us. You can't worry about things you have no control over. You'll go crazy." I was trying to be comforting but I wasn't succeeding.

"I guess I'm going to be insane because there's no way I'll ever stop thinking about this." As she was saying this I tried to shift gears and try to make her laugh.

"You're not worried about me?" I inquired.

"What?" she asked with a sniff.

"You just said you were worried about Ian and Jamie and Jared but you didn't say anything about me."

"Well, I don't have to worry about you having an aneurism," she replied as if it were obvious. This wasn't going where I wanted it to. I had hoped we were going to move into sarcastic comments about how we wouldn't miss each other. I was hoping to make her laugh but this was getting more serious rather than less.

"How do you know I won't have an aneurism?" I asked with interest.

She took a deep breath, seemingly unwilling to answer. Finally she looked up from the floor, "Because all potential hosts are scanned for that kind of thing. If there had been any possibility of that happening you would have been discarded and I never would have gotten placed in you."

I shuddered as I thought about how I would have welcomed an aneurism when I was caught. Things had changed so much since then. I looked at Wanda and tried to give her a reassuring smile but it appeared that she had more she was keeping inside. I let her continue knowing it was good for her to let it all out to me and not burden Ian with it. He was overly sensitive sometimes.

"I was just thinking about Jeb. He is the only reason we are alive right now. If he wasn't so kind we would have died in the desert, not even knowing if Jared and Jamie were safe. I never would have met Ian. And if he had ever been captured he wouldn't even have become a host, they would just have euthanized him immediately. He wouldn't even have had the opportunity that you had to rebel, it would just have been then end. Sometimes it's hard to be a soul and realize that others of my kind are committing atrocities like that everyday. We think we are improving the planet but anyone who would kill Jeb is not an improvement." She paused to take a breath and I didn't let her start again.

"Wanda, please don't punish yourself for the crimes of other souls. We have already established hundreds of times that you are better than any soul and better than any human. You're like the most perfect soul-human hybrid there could be." I smiled at her and she giggled slightly. At least I had cheered her up a little bit. I wiped the tears from her eyes and smirked at her. "Are you hungry?"

She nodded. "Starving actually."

"Good, me too. Let's go get something to eat and then we'll go find the boys," I offered.

She smiled again and got to her feet. As we were leaving the room I remembered something. "And if there's no one else there I have a surprise for you."

"What's that?" she asked excitedly.

"I found out where Jared hides the Twinkies."

* * *

_A/N: If you want to see my thoughts on Twilight feel free to visit them on my profile page. I considered putting them in here but it was getting long. Ridiculously long. If you have any comments of you own send me a pm and we can gush or lament over any part of the movie as we see fit._

_See that cute little button right below this sentence? Click it._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Sorry this took so long. I planned to write this on Friday morning but day after Thanksgiving shopping was too good to resist (3 Guitar Hero games for $50?!?! Awesome). Then I got an idea for a Twilight one shot about Rachel and Paul that I started writing on Friday night. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), I'm 2100 words in and they just met, so obviously it's not going to be a one shot. _

_Thanks to CullenNumber10, JmacKarla, EdwardAlways, Someone aka Me, Fanpire101, Forever Your Angel, and shimmershadow30 for the great reviews. If I could send you guys some of my amazing Thanksgiving leftovers I would but since I can't I will enjoy them while thinking of you.  
Want me to think about you while I'm eating yummy food? Review and your wish will be granted._

_BTW, sorry if you're from somewhere that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. Christmas is coming, so here's an apology in advance to all of my non-Christian readers for the amount of Christmas obsessing that will go on. Yay!  
_

_Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. :(

* * *

_Wanda and I ate leisurely – enjoying a Twinkie each – and then left to find Jared and Ian. We knew that they were outside somewhere with Jamie, Heath, and Aaron, helping to dig Jeb's final resting place (I was trying to avoid the word grave, it was too final), but we had no idea where. We started in the obvious place, where Walter and Wes were buried but there was no one there. There were footprints and a small hole a few feet deep. I wasn't sure if they were finished but the shovels were lying on the ground and there were no signs that anyone had been there recently.

We returned to inside and went to the hospital to see if Doc knew where they were. As we neared the hospital we heard raised voices emanating from inside. I recognized Doc and Sharon's voices immediately and was turning to leave to give them some privacy when I overheard some of their conversation.

"It's wrong and you know it!" Doc said angrily. "We have made more progress in this community in the year that she's been here than we made in the 4 years before that. How can you be so callous?"

"I would rather be callous than dead, which is exactly what we will be if we keep giving her free reign. This has to stop now. It's gone too far already," Sharon countered in the heated exchange.

I wasn't sure exactly who they were talking about but I had a pretty good idea. I looked to Wanda at my side and saw she was thinking the same thing. Her eyes had welled and her hands were shaking. She turned to leave but I held my hand up to stop her. We had to find out what exactly was going on.

Doc continued. "There is no more threat now than there was yesterday. Jeb's death doesn't change anything. You didn't have the authority to do this yesterday and you don't have it today. You're just being a power-hungry bitch."

Sharon's violent side took over and there was a sound of a slap and stunned silence. Her voice lowered as she whispered angrily, "I would prefer it if you slept in here from now on."

It seemed that Maggie and Sharon were going to try to keep Wanda back on raids. They still didn't trust her after all of the sacrifices she'd made for our community. A shiver of rage shook through me as I considered this. My own flesh and blood hated the woman who was more my sister than any blood-relation could be. Sometimes I was embarrassed to call them relatives.

I heard movement and realized that Sharon would be exiting the room shortly and it would not be good for her to catch Wanda or me standing there. I turned quickly and motioned for Wanda to follow. We ran a few yards down the dark hall before there was a small crevice in the wall at about waist height. It was just big enough to hold both of us so we hopped up and sat on the small shelf waiting for Sharon to walk by. We felt the air move as she passed quickly, breathing hard, and I thought I heard a sniff as she rounded the corner and turned away from us.

When she was out of sight Wanda let out a breath I hadn't realized she'd been holding. I grabbed her hand to pull her down from our shelf and she didn't let go. We stood there for a few moments before I realized she was expecting me to lead her somewhere. I had no idea where to go.

"Do you want to talk to Doc?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'd rather talk to Ian first," she replied, shaking slightly.

I pulled her into a hug in an attempt to calm her. "You know nothing is going to happen right? We won't let Sharon and Maggie pull anything."

"I know," was her only reply. She was holding back tears again.

"It'll be okay. Let's go find Ian and Jared." I took a couple of slow steps before I decided where we were going. "Let's try the game room," I said while increasing our pace. We exited the hall and turned in the direction of the game room.

As we approached the game room there was murmuring coming from inside. I stopped but Wanda kept on going. When I gave her a questioning look she replied simply, "I'm done eavesdropping for the day."

She stepped into the room slightly ahead of me and we found Jared, Ian, Jamie, Aaron, and Heath sitting in a small circle in the middle of the room. They were deep in conversation, not noticing us until I cleared my throat. Five heads shot up immediately and from the look of shock on their faces you would have thought I was a Seeker. Jared's face softened first and he got up from his place to walk over to me.

"Having a meeting?" I asked innocently. I didn't like being excluded.

Jared stopped in front of me with a smirk on his face. "Of course not," he replied. "We were getting ready for the memorial and we got to talking."

"Oh really? And what were you talking about?" I countered.

"You know, the weather, our next raid, Maggie and Sharon," he listed casually.

I beamed at him but checked myself quickly. "And I don't get to be involved?"

"It's kind of guy talk," he whispered loudly. Jamie snickered. He enjoyed being considered part of guy talk.

I smiled as sweetly as I could when I knew I was ruining their male bonding time. "Well I guess Wanda and I are just two of the guys now aren't we?"

Jared looked defeated already. He knew this was a fight he didn't want to start. "Yeah I guess you are," he said with little enthusiasm. He turned back to the group and took his seat, leaving space beside him for me to sit next to Heath. Wanda walked over to Ian and he pulled her into his lap wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her hair and started whispering in her ear. She giggled loudly then buried her head in Ian's chest when she realized everyone was looking at them.

No one seemed interested in talking so I spurred them along. "So….what were you talking about?"

"We already told you, Maggie and Sharon," Ian replied, obviously trying to hide something. This was like pulling teeth.

"Why don't you just tell us what's going on? We're going to find out anyway."

Heath sighed and started explaining. "Maggie and Sharon seem to think that they are in charge now. And we need to stop them before they can do something stupid."

"Like what?" Wanda asked. I knew Wanda well enough to know that she wasn't sure if the others knew Maggie and Sharon's agenda, and she didn't want to let Ian know she was the target in a group setting.

"With them who really knows?" Jared replied. "But I'm sure they're going to tighten things up around here. Mandatory chores, less free time, no extras at meal times."

"Basically, it'll be like prison, except less freedom," Jamie added with a smirk. He was definitely developing a dry sense of humor. Jared was so proud.

"So you don't know of anything specifically, you're just speculating?" I asked, trying to clarify the situation for Wanda's benefit.

"Pretty much, yeah," Ian answered while running his hand through Wanda's hair. She shivered slightly and the expression on her face told me everything. She wasn't going to tell Ian what we had heard Sharon say. She was so intent on never making waves that she thought she could make it seem like she volunteered not to go to make Ian happy. Ian already spent most of the time we were planning raids trying to get Wanda out of going so this would make sense for awhile, but not forever.

I shook my head. "It won't work," I said, shooting down her plan. Five pairs of eyes stared at me like I was crazy and talking to myself. I kept my eyes trained on Wanda so she would know I had been talking to her. She brought her eyes to mine and gave me her best approximation of a dirty look, which was just confusion with narrowed eyes.

"We'll see."

* * *

_A/N: Doc was probably out of character when he called Sharon a bitch but I think she deserved it so I let it go. _

_Remember, you're only cool if you review. Peer pressure, peer pressure, peer pressure. Don't resist. _


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Yet again, my apologies for the long time between updates. I've been focusing on school, which is good in the sense that I'm getting good grades, but bad in the sense that I'm completely stressed out. Writing has been my stress relief. Enjoy!_

_Thanks to Fanpire101, Someone aka Me, Forever Your Angel, TopKat90, J.K. Meyer, shimmershadow30, vampire's kisses 4 me and vampire-lover19 for your amazing reviews. You guys are awesome. Seriously. Awesome._

_Disclaimer: If I owned this do you think I'd be letting you read this for free? So I obviously don't own this.

* * *

_Wanda and I sat glaring at each other. I was pretty sure we were making everyone else uncomfortable. I was not going to let her do this. How could she possibly think that just staying out of Maggie and Sharon's way would be enough? I needed to talk to her alone, explain things.

I stood up quickly dropping Jared's hand, never averting my eyes from her. "I need to talk to you," I said. "Now."

She looked at Ian as if asking for permission. I sighed loudly knowing that Ian wouldn't make her go if he knew how much she didn't want to have this conversation.

Thankfully he didn't know. "Go, Wanda. I'll be waiting here when you get done." He kissed her on the cheek as she stood tentatively. I gave her a look, sending the message that she better not waste time exiting the game room. She nodded, moving faster, leading the way.

I followed her out dragging my fingers across Jared's shoulder as I passed. "We'll be right back," I told the group. I left the game room and found Wanda waiting right outside the entrance. I motioned for her to follow, which she did tentatively. She knew that the only reason I had for pulling her away from the door was because I was going to yell. And she was very right. As soon as we were far enough away I turned to face her.

"What are you thinking? You can't keep something like this from Ian!"

She looked at me and I could tell she wanted to be mean but didn't know how. "I can and I will. He doesn't need this stress in his life. He's always asking me to stay behind on raids and now I will. He doesn't need to know why."

"So you're going to lie to him? I thought you didn't lie?" I was playing dirty but it didn't matter. I had to do something to make sure she understood that this was a horrible idea.

She gave me an actual dirty look this time. Apparently hitting below the belt brought out the fury she had somewhere inside her. "I wouldn't be lying."

"How is it not a lie?" I really wanted to know.

She took a deep breath and I knew what was coming next would be sincere. "Because I really do want to stop. I hate leaving. The only reason I go is because it makes things easier for everyone. You really didn't know that?"

I was taken aback. I honestly thought Wanda liked raiding. Then I remembered that the reason I thought so were my experiences with her when we were together. I was an adrenaline junkie so I enjoyed the risk involved, as did she at the time. Now that we were separated Wanda's true personality showed through more and it was clear that she hated it. I realized that now. I felt horrible for never realizing before. We made her go on so many raids when she was so scared she could barely stand to leave the van and she still went anyway. She was so completely selfless. I had never loved her as much as I did in that moment.

"Oh god, Wanda I'm so sorry." I pulled her into a hug and she seemed shocked at first. She tried to pull away at first then when she realized I wasn't letting go she hugged me tighter. She sobbed into my shoulder, letting go of all of her fears and frustrations of going on raids. I started crying too, knowing that I was partially responsible for her current state. I told everyone that she loved raids and wanted to go on them. I'd made her life miserable. I felt awful.

Our tears slowed together. We took synchronized breaths in and out and I pulled back to look at her. She was a mess and it was all my fault. "I really am sorry Wanda. I had no idea."

She laughed. "And we thought we knew everything about each other."

I smiled. I knew I had to steer the conversation back to my original intention. "You know you still have to tell Ian."

She stiffened. "No. I don't."

"Wanda, everyone else is going to know that Maggie and Sharon aren't letting you leave. It would be cruel for Ian not to know." She looked at me and nodded. She knew I was right. Then I added, "But if you want to tell him that you're not going anymore tonight, then save the Maggie news until tomorrow, I think that would be ok."

She smiled and hugged me again. "Thank you so much!"

"We should probably be heading back," I said. She nodded and we started walking back to the game room.

We entered and took our previous places. We had interrupted their conversation but their topic had shifted from speculating about Maggie's agenda to the next raid. I looked at Wanda to let her know that now was the perfect time to announce her retirement.

"What did you guys talk about?" Ian asked her.

She surprised me with her answer. "You know we don't talk very often. We mostly just looked at each other." I smirked at the same time Ian did. Excellent answer. I turned my attention back to the conversation at hand.

"When do you think we'll have to go?" Aaron asked.

"Probably within the next week," Jared replied. "We're getting pretty low. We should probably be going now but with all the things going on…" He trailed off.

"It's ok, we'll be fine for a little while. We can go next week," Jamie said.

I stared at him. "What's this 'we'?" I asked. "You're not going."

Hurt crossed his face as I shot him down. "But Jared said I could."

"If Jared said you could jump off a bridge would you?" I asked him. As soon as the words left my mouth I clamped my hand over it. Oh, god. I was turning into my mother.

Jamie realized this too and used it against me. "Thanks, Mom," he said mockingly.

Jared wasn't very happy with that comment either. "Do you really think I would let him go if it wasn't safe?" he asked me.

"No, but he almost died before. I will not lose him." I looked at him and the hurt of Jeb's loss seeped through my gaze. I cleared my throat to keep from crying. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Sure, sure," Jamie said. "We are far from finished."

At that point Wanda interjected, "I think Jamie should go." I gave her the dirtiest look I could manage. I was about to open my mouth and tell Ian all about Maggie and Sharon's plans but Wanda cut me off, speaking to me. "He'll be safe. You'll be with him." I was confused. I didn't usually go on raids.

"Why would I be there?"

"Because you'll be doing the raiding," she state simply as if it were obvious. I didn't get it at first but I realized that this would have to be the plan now. If Wanda couldn't raid obviously Sunny wasn't going to be allowed out either then I was next in line to raid since I'd had actual experience. As long as they didn't check my eyes I could play it cool long enough to get what we needed successfully. And I would have to. Not that I would mind too much. As I already said, I'm an adrenaline junkie.

Ian caught Wanda's chin and turned her face to his. "Really?" he asked excitedly. "You're not raiding anymore?"

She smiled and looked at him lovingly. "Nope. Mel is more than capable and I know you worry when I go out. I don't want you to worry." She leaned in and kissed him sweetly.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Jared interrupted. "Can we discuss this before we decide on anything?"

"No," Ian said resolutely. "Her mind is made up and you will not change her mind just because you think you need her."

"Ok, as much as I'm enjoying this stand off, it's time to go outside and pay our respects," Heath said.

Jared and Ian both nodded, setting aside their difference of opinion out of respect to Jeb. We exited the game room and went outside where it appeared just about everyone had gathered. I saw Brandt and Kyle standing next to a burlap sack with a misshapen lump inside it. I knew it was Jeb and I could barely stand to look. I turned my face into Jared's neck and wrapped my arms around him. A few tears escaped and I knew this was going to be another long night.

* * *

_A/N:I'm going to see Lebron James dominate the Pacers tonight. It should be fun. Plus I get an Anderson Varejao wig. If you don't know who he is do a google image search and you will see why I am super excited for this wig. I would love to come home to some lovely reviews. They would make my night :)  
_

_This chapter is mostly just set-up but I promise the action is coming. And some major fluff will be there too (if not in the next chapter then the one right after). As an incentive to review: the more reviews I get the fluffier it will be ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Again I apologize profusely for how long this took to get up. My Rachel/Paul fic has been taking over my life (which is sad b/c I haven't even posted it yet), but I promise I'm going to try harder to get this one written in a timely fashion._

_Apparently some of you don't like fluff. Which disappoints me :( There are still some of you who want fluff so there's some in this chapter. If you want there's also an opportunity for me to write a lemon to go with this chapter. I could post that as a one-shot if you want. I've never written a lemon before so don't get too excited, I'm not sure I'll do a very good job. When you review let me know if you'd be interested._

_Thanks to JmacKarla, Fanpire101, shimmershadow30, vampire's kisses 4 me, EdwardAlways, and Someone aka Me for reviewing. Thanks :) _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Host or anything else that could be considered copyright infringement.  


* * *

_We all stood around outside saying our final goodbyes to Jeb. When he was lowered into the hole we took turns throwing handfuls of earth in with him, saying goodbye.

Brandt, Heath, and Aaron went first. The theme of their goodbyes revolved around their knowledge that they wouldn't be alive without Jeb, or at least wouldn't be in control of their own bodies without him.

Kyle and Sunny went next. Sunny was hidden in Kyle's side as usual and I was surprised at the conviction in her words as she dropped her dirt. "Thank you for seeing the best in me when I could barely see it in myself." I wasn't sure exactly what those words meant but they seemed to affect Kyle greatly and he looked to be holding back tears.

When it was my turn I pulled my face from Jared's chest and took his hand walking over to the dirt mound with him by my side. I grabbed my dirt and stood over the grave, having no idea what to say. Finally I settled on the obvious. "I'll miss you. It won't be the same without you." With that I opened my hand and let the earth all from my hand. Tears rolled freely down my face as Jared took his turn.

"I can never thank you enough for everything you did for me. You will be missed." He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me back to our previous spot as Wanda and Ian made their way forward.

Wanda was sobbing uncontrollably, glued to Ian's side. He tried to coax her out so she could throw her earth but her hands were not going to separate themselves from his shirt. He smiled down at her as he tossed his earth in. "Thank you for everything, but especially for saving Wanda before I had the sense to."

I smiled. He was so sweet and loving. Wanda was his entire life. If I hadn't had Jared I might have been fairly jealous. After that declaration Wanda decided she could speak. She reached out for her earth and tossed it in, squeaking out, "You were my first friend here and you made me feel welcome. You made me feel human. And I will never forget you."

Jamie went up next. He pulled the dirt into his hand and tossed it out. "You brought my sisters to me. Thank you." I knew he meant Wanda as his sister to. A new wave of tears rolled down my face as Sharon and Maggie walked up together. It was then that I noticed Doc was on the other side of the circle. I guessed he and Sharon hasn't made up yet.

Sharon's words were the same generic ones I'd been hearing all along. She missed him and didn't know what she would have done without him. Maggie's farewell was well thought-out.

"You were my favorite brother. I'll miss you but I promise I will take care of everything." Her goodbye angered me for the simple fact that she said it simply to anger me. I didn't care that she hated my father; I was already well aware of it. And it didn't bother me that she thought she was going to be taking care of things. I knew no one would back her up. The thing that was pissing me off was that she was using this as her platform to rattle off her agenda.

Thankfully Trudy and Candy went up immediately and didn't give Maggie time to continue before they took their turns. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not but I hoped it was.

I spend the rest of the time nestled firmly in Jared's shoulder, not wanting to lose contact with him for a second. When it was time to go back inside Jared stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"If you guys want to go eat dinner after you're done we're going to meet in the game room." The look on his face let the others know that this was not optional. I smirked. It was hot when he took charge like that. Maggie looked perturbed and I relished it. She had to know that she was not in charge.

Jared and I walked inside, hand in hand, bringing up the rear of the group. We walked slowly allowing the others to get further and further ahead. When we were just about to enter the main room Jared pushed me up against the wall.

His lips came down on mine urgently and he whispered, "I need you now."

I moaned slightly as his hands moved down to the small of my back to pull me closer. I tangled the fingers of my left hand in his hair while my right hand wrapped around his neck. My tongue danced with his and I craved more contact. My right foot rose from the ground and I wrapped my leg around his waist.

His slight groan let me know that we would be stopping soon. He force himself to pull away despite my best efforts to keep him there. "Not here," he said before turned and practically running back to our room with my hand in his.

I smiled widely as me pushed past the screen and entered our room. His hands were immediately everywhere as soon as we stopped. We had probably about a half an hour before we had to be in the game room so I knew I wasn't in for anything fancy, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be mind blowing.

* * *

Jared and I stumbled out of our room and made our way to the game room , fairly certain we were going to be late. The others wouldn't let us forget it if we were late when Jared had made such a big deal about going. But even if they teased us all night our cause for being late was more than worth it.

As we walked into the game room I scanned the group and didn't see anyone missing. We were last. And we showed up in different clothes. (Long story short, Jared was very impatient so not all of my clothes survived the undressing process.) We knew the heckling would commence soon.

We joined the group and I looked for Wanda. I couldn't seem to find her. I guess Jared and I weren't the last ones. That made me feel better. Ian wasn't here either. I wondered what they were doing. I thought I had a pretty good idea that it was something fairly similar to what Jared and I were doing.

Wanda and Ian entered the room hand in hand. Ian was holding a bag in his other hand and released Wanda's hand to whisper something in Jared's ear. Jared nodded and turned to the group.

"Hey everybody, thanks for coming. We're gathered here in remembrance of Jeb and Ian suggested throwing him a proper Irish wake. And who was I to oppose it? Ian has something here to help get the party started."

With that Ian reached into the bag he was holding and pulled out a bottle. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be bottle of whiskey. I shot Jared a sideways glace.

He whispered in my ear, "I do have to say this is one of O'Shea's better ideas." I laughed then searched the room for Maggie and Sharon's horrified faces. It didn't take long to find them. They looked like someone had just committed murder. And really we had just killed their plans to put their agenda into action tonight, so they had some right to be mad.

As Ian started pouring the alcohol into plastic shot glasses, I put my mouth to Jared's ear. "Where did Ian get the booze? And the glasses?"

Jared laughed again. "They're Kyle's. He'd been saving it for a special occasion and we decided it could come in handy here." He kissed my cheek as he reached out for his glass. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take one. I'd never drunk alcohol before and I wasn't sure of the effect it would have on me. But I was with Jared so I knew he wouldn't let me over do it.

Jamie tried to take a glass, but I shot him down. "No way," I said, shaking my head. He gave me a dirty look.

"Let the kid have one," Ian interjected. I stared him down but I didn't want to be the bad guy for the second time today.

"Fine," I agreed. "But just one."

Ian was handing shots out then he poured two doubles. One was for him and I hoped the other wasn't for Wanda. Her little body probably wouldn't be able to handle one shot, let alone two. Thankfully he held out the second shot to Kyle. Everyone stood with a glass in their hands and I raised my first.

"To Jeb."

Everyone else raised theirs. "To Jeb," they repeated as they downed their alcohol.

A few coughs of those who didn't know how to take a shot emanated throughout the room (myself included) then the room erupted in conversation. Ian poured two more doubles and handed another to Kyle.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Wanda asked him. She looked more concerned than she should be, but she was prone to worrying.

Ian laughed her off easily. "Wanda, sweetheart, I'm Irish. I could drink this whole bottle and be just fine."

After about an hour the bottle was completely gone and so was Kyle's sense of inhibition. He was loud, obnoxious, and absolutely hilarious. I regretted not being able to go out to bars with Kyle, I'm sure he was the life of the party. Ian and Jared weren't in too much better shape, though I was fairly certain they would be able to walk to be by themselves. I wasn't so sure about Kyle.

The party started winding down and people were about to start heading back for bed. Before the first ones left Maggie moved to the center of the group.

She cleared her throat and began talking. "Before anyone leaves I just wanted to talk about a couple of things."

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_A/N: Yay for getting drunk. I'm not trying to be stereotypical of Irish people. Though I'm Irish and my relatives drink like fish. And though Melanie doesn't know anything about alcohol I can say that Kyle has very good taste in alcohol. They were drinking Jack Daniel's._

_If you have an opinion about whether I should post a lemon or not let me know. And even if you don't have an opinion review anyway. Do it._


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Yay for a quick update! I realized that if people voted against the lemon all they would do is not read it, so I went ahead and wrote it. It is called 'Mindblowing', it's posted now, and you should read it (but only if you are 18 haha). It is my first lemon so be sure to let me know if it's good or bad. I'm really curious to hear what people think._

_To my amazing reviewers, EdwardAlways, Forever Your Angel, vampire's kisses 4 me, shimmershadow30, J.K. Meyer, JmacKarla: You guys are totally freaking sweet.

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__Chapter 8 recap:_

_The party started winding down and people were about to start heading back for bed. Before the first ones left Maggie moved to the center of the group._

_She cleared her throat and began talking. "Before anyone leaves I just wanted to clear up a couple of things."_

Chapter 9

Everyone turned to look at Maggie with varying degrees of shock on their faces. I saw Sharon's devious smile and knew that they were taking advantage of the current situation. They would never have a better opportunity.

I snatched Jared's hand and turned to face him. His eyes were half-lidded and he had a dopey smirk on his face. He was definitely wasted. I moved a hand to the side of his face to get his attention. "Jared, I need you to focus. Maggie is going to try to get her claws in tonight and you have to stop her," I whispered.

"Claws," Jared chuckled. "Is she a lobster?" I groaned.

I shot Wanda an urgent look, letting her know that she had to do the same with Ian. She got in his face and he quickly pulled her off of the ground into a passionate kiss. I could see her resolve crumble as she kissed him back. This was going to be harder than I thought.

I turned my attention back to Jared. I grabbed his chin and pulled his face within inches of mine. I gave the most intense look I could manage, hoping to convey the urgency of the situation. "Seriously. You need to concentrate. This is important."

He looked at me like I was speaking another language. "Wait, what's important?"

I sighed and knew he was a total loss. Wanda and Ian were still going at it in the back of the group. And Kyle seemed completely oblivious that anyone was even talking. This wasn't going to be pretty.

Jamie came and stood next to me, taking my hand. He smiled at me and I knew he would be on my side in this. As much as I hated to involve him in this, he was my only ally right now.

Everyone had congregated around Maggie and when I turned my attention to her she wore an expression of triumph. She thought this was going to be easy. I had news for her. Just because her three strongest opponents were currently in a drunken stupor didn't mean she was going to get this handed to her.

"I just wanted to say a few words about Jeb before everyone left," she said innocently, but I saw through her. This was just her jumping off point.

A few people visibly relaxed while I only tensed more. If I didn't know where this was heading I would have a harder time cutting her off.

She took a deep breath and made her best pained face. She was such a fraud. She hated Jeb for allowing Wanda and I to live when we first arrived. She would never forgive him for it no matter how much time had passed or even in death. I had a feeling that deep down she was happy that Jeb was gone. She saw his sympathy for souls as a cancer that had taken over the caves. And there were the only feelings that I had knowledge of; these were the feelings she'd been willing to share in front of the group. I could only imagine what she had wanted to say but never had.

I was fairly certain that Jeb's death had only made her more audacious in her accusations of wrong doing. She held no respect for the dead. I wanted to walk over to her and slap her for her blatant disregard for the man that was the only reason she was still alive. The only thing that stopped me was Jamie's hand tightening around my own. He must have seen the change in my expression and I was glad he stopped me from doing something I could regret.

Maggie began her deceitful eulogy. "Jeb was my brother. We didn't agree on anything and we rarely got along for more than ten minutes at a time. Despite this fact, I still loved him. He was a great man who knew what was happening long before the rest of us did. I realize now I never thanked him properly for convincing me there was something fishy going on." She paused now for dramatic effect, looking pointedly at Wanda and Sunny.

Wanda and Ian had finally managed to tear themselves away from each other and Ian's jaw tightened in anger. She rubbed his arm and whispered in his ear. Whatever she said seemed to calm him infinitesimally, thought he still glared at Maggie. I glanced to Sunny, tucked tightly into Kyle's side. Kyle was too inebriated to know what was going on around him and I was secretly thankful. There was no need for him to cause a scene.

Maggie continued. "I know that I am not the only one here that he saved from the certain death at the hands of those parasites." A few people nodded their heads in agreement. I couldn't believe they didn't see through her thinly veiled stab at Wanda and Sunny.

"So it seems only right, as repayment for his kindness to us that we carry on life as before. Never take life for granted. Appreciate everything he has given to us including these caves." A few people began murmuring as she paused again.

_Here it comes_, I thought. And I wasn't disappointed.

"It seems that in our grieving process we have allowed the caves to fall into disrepair. I know it has only been two days, but the jobs being left undone could cause more problems if they aren't taken care of sooner rather than later. So I ask all of you to please, if you have any respect for Jeb and all that he did to make sure we were safe here, start working again tomorrow."

I looked at her with wide eyes. So that was how she was going to play it. She was going to slowly and gradually assert herself as the person in charge. I had to say that plan was preferable to the one I had been expecting which would have resulted in a screaming fight with everyone taking a side. This was sneakier, well thought-out, something I should have seen coming. I kicked myself for underestimating Maggie. She was a lot smarter than I gave her credit for.

She started naming off tasks for people, going a step further than I expected. She assigned some people to weed on field, a few more to plant another. Every task she doled out wasn't far from that person's usual job so no one saw it as an issue. Until she came to her last assignment. "And if Wanderer and Sunlight Passing Through the Ice would please come see me tomorrow morning, I have a special assignment for you." I tensed. I hadn't expected Maggie to assign them anything, since that would have meant addressing them directly. She showed no uneasiness in speaking to them, although she did use their full names, once again driving home the point that they were not like us. As if we could forget.

I didn't know what her plan was, but I was sure that Wanda and Sunny would not be meeting with Maggie alone tomorrow.

"And now, it's very late. If we're going to get back to work tomorrow we should all get to bed."

A few people rolled their eyes but no one seemed as outraged as I was. I knew I should have spoken up but I had no idea what to say. Why did Jared have to get drunk? He always knew what to say in these situations and would have shot Maggie down before she even got started. Instead he stood next to me like he was senile. I was angry. Not at him, but at the situation. And a little bit at him for not thinking his wake idea though.

I sighed and took Jared's hand, keeping Jamie's in my other hand. "Let's go," I said urgently.

We were the first to leave as I led the way from the game room. We walked silently through the corridors, moving slowly as Jared seemed to stumble every few feet. We dropped Jamie at Aaron and Brandt's room. He gave me his best puppy dog eyes but I would not allow him in with us tonight. I wasn't sure how drunk Jared was, but I thought it was probably drunk enough that it was going to take some effort to keep his hands off of me.

We reached our room and I pushed past the screen, feeling him lean into me as he lost his balance slightly. I led him over to the bed and pushed him over with ease. He started laughing uncontrollably.

"You're hot when you're drunk Mel," he told me running his fingers though my hair.

I was annoyed with him now. "I'm not drunk," I informed him as I attempted to pull his feet from the ground so I could remove his shoes.

"Oh, well then you better not try to take advantage of me," he said with a smirk.

I couldn't help but laugh. The damage done tonight by Maggie wasn't irreversible, and Jared was kind of hot when he was drunk.

He deserved some kind of punishment for the extra stress I had endured due to his intoxicated state, though. I contemplated for a moment before a smile spread across my face. I hoped he woke up with one hell of a hangover.

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_A/N: Sunny's name is Sunlight Passing Through the Ice right? I'm not 100% sure and my book is loaned out right now so I can't check. If I'm wrong, let me know and I'll change it._

_Review...please?_


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: I decided that since this story is rated T, I should make it earn that rating so there's a little bit swearing this chapter (coming from an unexpected source), and a slight mention of marijuana and a couple of the many other names it can be called. Don't worry, nobody's toking up in the caves (although I personally think that would be hilarious). _

_J.K. Meyer, Someone aka Me, EdwardAlways, CullenNumber10, JmacKarla, and shimmershadow30: you guys are the best reviewers ever. You've all reviewed multiple chapters and that makes you pretty freaking cool in my book. Keep it up :P (And a special big thanks to those of you who told me I was right about Sunny's name!)_

_I may get one more chapter done before I go home for Christmas break on Friday. We'll see, but I hope so. I really want to write this next chapter. I hope I can make the time.  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just make some of them projectile vomit._

_

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_I woke up the next morning pissed. I was pissed at Maggie for being such a bitch. I was pissed at Jared for getting wasted last night. But mostly I was pissed at myself for not saying anything when Maggie planting her flag last night. She was trying to take over my _home_ and I didn't stand up to her at all. I was disgusted with my cowardice.

I rolled over and found Jared still sleeping it off next to me. It took all I had to keep from pushing him off of the bed and onto the floor. It wasn't his fault he tried to do something nice for everyone and Maggie used it to her advantage. And I have to say that drunk Jared is very amusing, and definitely sexy.

My stomach rumbled and I remembered that due to Jared's and my little _tryst _when everyone else was at dinner yesterday I'd gone without eating. I threw myself over Jared and onto the floor, dressing quickly. If I made it down there first I was going to grab a Twinkie. Jared made such a mistake showing me where he hid them. He was going to have to come up with another hiding place.

I kissed my still-sleeping Jared on the cheek before I walked out into the hall, heading for the kitchen. I considered stopping at Wanda and Ian's room to see if they were still asleep but decided against it. I'd interrupted them yesterday. I wasn't going to possibly ruin two days in a row.

When I arrived in the kitchen, for the first time in my life I was disappointed to see Jamie. I really wanted that Twinkie. My disappointment faded quickly as I grabbed some food and sat next to my brother.

"Hey, Mel," he said with surprise. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Too angry to sleep," I replied easily. He understood. He was the only one I could talk to about Maggie right now because he was the only one that remembered everything she said. I wasn't looking forward to walking Jared, Ian, and Kyle through the play-by-play later. I shook my head in disgust. "What about you?"

"Same as usual. I can only take Aaron's snoring and Brandt's kicking for so long. And if I have to be awake I might as well be eat," he said, taking a huge bite of his roll. I laughed at him. His appetite had really kicked in lately and he was eating anything and everything put in front of him. I was glad that he wasn't this hungry when he was younger and we were running. He ate so little then. Maybe he was making up for it now.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked me.

I had no idea. I just shook my head. Jamie took this to mean that I wasn't going to tell him and started on a tirade that I didn't know he had in him. "Why won't you tell me? I'm not a little kid anymore Mel. I'm 15, older than you were when we started running. You can't keep treating me like I'm nine years old. You can tell me things without me freaking out. I've been through just as much as you. Well, almost, and it's not fair for you to keep excluding me. Jeb treated me like an adult, why can't you?"

I sighed but I had to keep reminding myself that I was distancing him from me whenever I excluded him. I sighed and answered honestly.

"Ok, but I really don't know. Until someone comes up with one I guess I'm just going to play it by ear. All I know for sure right now is Maggie isn't going to meet with Wanda and Sunny alone."

Jamie nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. What do you think she wants?"

I considered my answer for a moment. I hadn't even told Jared but in the interest of letting Jamie know that I was including him I answered honestly. "Wanda and I overheard Sharon and Doc fighting yesterday. From what we heard we're pretty sure Maggie wants to keep them from going out on raids. She's convinced they will turn us in sooner or later so she's going to keep them prisoner here."

Jamie shook his head. "That's bullshit."

My mouth fell to the floor. Since when did Jamie swear? "What did you just say?"

"Oh, come on Mel. Is there a better word to describe it?"

I thought for a second before I replied. "It's fucking bullshit," I said with a smile. Jamie smiled back at me and I cut him off before he could say anything, pointing a finger at him. "This does not give you permission to go around swearing like a sailor. I think Kyle uses up the swearing quota for everyone in the whole cave."

"Fine," he laughed.

I heard some commotion coming down the hall and I turned to see who was coming. I saw Jared entering the kitchen with Wanda and Ian. Jared and Ian were obviously arguing about something and Wanda looked dead tired at Ian's side.

Jared walked over to me and kissed me on the forehead. "Here you are. I was wondering where you snuck off to."

I smiled up at him. "Not all of us had to sleep off a bender," I said sweetly with a hint of sarcasm, moving a finger up to stroke his chin.

"Haha, very funny. Now I need you to tell me exactly what Maggie said last night. My version is a little hazy."

"Purple Haze?" Jamie asked jokingly. I looked at him, shocked. "It's a Jimi Hendrix song," he explained to me. I knew that but how did he? Where had he ever heard Jimi Hendrix since he'd been old enough to understand it.

Jared just laughed and shook his head. "Nice try kid, but Purple Haze isn't about alcohol." He mussed Jamie's hair then went to get himself some food.

Jamie followed after him. "Then what is it?"

I turned my attention to Wanda who had just taken a seat beside me. I didn't want to hear Jared educating my baby brother about the slang names for marijuana. I could just hear Jamie rattling the list off to me now. But he probably should still learn that kind of thing. It makes you feel more human when you can call it something more than weed and pot. Not that we had any occasion to talk about it, but it was good to know.

"How was your night?" I asked with sympathy.

"Interesting," she said slowly, as if deciding if that was the right word to use. "Ian was umm…all over me then all the sudden he started throwing up everywhere. I spent most of the night in the bathroom with him."

I was laughing when Ian and Jared sat down. Jamie was standing behind them. I looked at Ian. "I hear you had a fun night."

He glanced at Wanda who looked sheepish. "Don't worry, Wanda. I'm not ashamed. I'm a puker and I admit it."

Jared laughed and Ian turned his attention to him. "Oh, you think it's funny? I drank three times as much as you did and I am willing to bet you passed out as soon as you got to bed last night."

It was my turn to laugh as I confirmed Ian's suspicions. He winked at me and I knew Jared was really in for it later. That would be his punishment for drinking too much: getting made fun of for not drinking enough.

"Ok, now what exactly did Maggie say last night?" Jared asked, facing me.

"Jamie, would you like to tell him?" I asked.

Jamie's eyes brightened as he started telling the story, probably better than I would have. When he finished with Maggie's request to see Wanda and Sunny, Ian's mouth gaped and Wanda's eyes dropped to the floor.

"You didn't say anything to him?" I hissed.

"No, she didn't," Ian said with a slightly angry look. It softened immediately though. He couldn't stay angry at Wanda for more than ten seconds at a time.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, looking at Jared.

"We can't be outwardly insubordinate. That would just cause people to take sides and we don't want that. As long as she doesn't get too ridiculous, we have to go along with her for a little while. And only Mel can go to their meeting today."

"Just me? Why?" I asked.

"If more than one person goes Maggie will get suspicious. And we want her to be suspicious, but not yet. Not until we have a concrete plan. And you're the obvious choice. Wanda and Sunny trust you and Maggie believes that you respect her. Who would be better?"

I thought about it for a second. I didn't want to be the one who had to stand up to Maggie all by myself, but I knew it had to be done. I nodded my head.

"When are you going?" I asked Wanda.

"Whenever Sunny gets here."

"Speaking of Sunny, where are her and Kyle?" Jared asked.

Ian chuckled. "Let's just say that Kyle is regretting last night from both ends."

Everyone at the table winced. "That was too much, man," Jamie said.

I stood as soon as Wanda was done eating. "Let's go get Sunny. I'm sure she needs to get away from Kyle. Then we'll find Maggie and get this over with."

Wanda nodded as Jared caught my arm. "If it's anything worse than raids, come get me immediately." I nodded but I knew I wouldn't need to. What could Maggie possibly be planning that would be worse than essentially holding them prisoner in the caves?


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: So, funny story. I really wanted to write this chapter but when I got home from Midnight Mass but I was super tired. I started writing anyway and just wrote whatever I thought sounded good and I was going to proofread Christmas morning. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but oh god it was awful haha. So obviously I had to start from scratch. And the lesson from this? Sleep…then write._

_I just wrote this and didn't really proofread so I'm sorry about all the typos that I'm sure are in here, I just really wanted to get it up because you guys have been waiting (mostly) patiently for an update. I promise I'll go through and fix everything tomorrow, but I wanted to give you your Christmas present before Christmas was over (for me at least)._

_Thanks to EdwardAlways, vampire's kisses 4 me, Someone aka Me, and JmacKarla yet again. _

_Disclaimer: I didn't get my Christmas wish. I still don't own the Host.

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_Sunny looked extremely happy to have an excuse to leave Kyle. I'd never seen her excited to leave his side before but I knew even she would have limits when it came to bodily fluids and their expulsion from the body. Wanda told Kyle that Ian would be by to check on him after he ate and at the mention of food Kyle doubled over yet again, only to find he had nothing left to throw up.

I shook my head as we headed out. I almost felt sorry for Kyle. Almost. But it was entirely his fault that he was in his current state. Sunny was still concerned and looked back just before we moved out of sight. Kyle was suffering and there was nothing she could do about it. I wished she would just blame it on him like the rest of us did, but it wasn't in her nature. Souls were too forgiving.

As we walked through the caves we passed quite a few people who were less friendly than usual, many keeping their heads down as we passed. It was as if they were avoiding us, though I couldn't fathom why. Unless they agreed with the plan to keep Wanda and Sunny prisoner. I hoped they didn't, but I couldn't be sure of anyone's true allegiance. People tended to switch sides too quickly here.

We reached the game room all too soon and stood outside the entrance before deciding that I would lead the group in, since I was the 'impartial' observer. I stepped over the threshold into the room and found Maggie sitting in the center of the room in what looked like a folding lawn chair. There were two chairs across from her obviously meant for Wanda and Sunny. I was happy she had thought to bring them chairs instead of making them sit on the floor while she lorded over them. I narrowed my eyes slightly at the thought of her being so condescending. Not that sitting in chairs was going to stop her patronizing attitude.

As I scanned the room for some sign of Sharon my eyes landed on something I was not expecting. In the far corner of the room, in a crevice that was normally black as night there was a faint glowing. Immediately I recognized it at a cryo-tank. I wondered what possible use there would be to have a…no wait, there were two cryo-tanks in a room a fair distance from the hospital. Were we really running out of storage space so completely that we had to store tanks in here? I didn't think so. Especially since we were in the process of planning a raid. And I was fairly certain they hadn't been there last night. Of course I could be wrong but I think I would have noticed something like that. Maybe I'd had more alcohol than I originally thought.

Maggie followed my gaze and locked eyes with me. She shook her head minutely, trying to steer me away from the tanks. That only made me focus more. If there was some reason for them to be here then I needed to know what it was.

Maggie motioned for Wanda and Sunny to take a seat across from her. She inspected each girl on her way down, sizing up the competition. Finally her eyes came to rest on me.

"I don't recall asking you to join us, Melanie," she said, trying to sound like my arrival was a pleasant surprise. I saw right through her and she knew it.

I saw the wheels in her head turning as she was reformulating her plan. My presence created an obstacle that she wasn't planning on and she had to adjust accordingly. I just smirked at her, hoping to throw her off.

"I just thought I'd come and observe. I'm curious about Wanda and Sunny's new assignment," I replied with the fakest smile I could muster. She had to know that I was there to keep her from pulling any of her usual shit, though she tried her best not to show it.

"That's fine. You'd find out eventually. I'm sorry I don't have a seat for you."

I nodded slightly, knowing that if she wasn't trying to suck up to Wanda and Sunny before she enclosed them within the caves forever, never allowing them to see the world again, that one of them would have been asked to stand while I sat. Maggie would never allow a soul to be more comfortable than a human unless it was under dire circumstances.

Maggie seemed to reconsider her words. "Actually, since you're going to be here, the others might as well be too. Would you mind going to get Jared, Ian, and Kyle?" she said slyly. She wanted to get Wanda and Sunny alone, and she would do her best to achieve her goal for no matter how short a time.

"It's all right," I assured her. "I've already promised them a full report."

She smirked slightly then squinted her eyes. "Still, no offense, I'd rather them hear it first hand instead of the embellished version."

I sighed and looked down at Wanda and Sunny resting in the chairs. They were both looking up at me with hopeful eyes and I knew they wanted Ian and Kyle here with them. And to be honest, I would feel much better if Jared were here to argue with Maggie instead of me.

I cleared my throat. "Okay, I'll be back," I said as I turned to leave. As an afterthought I added, "Right away."

I sprinted out of the game room, determined to leave Maggie with as little time alone with the two of them as possible. I went to the kitchen first but they had already left. I knew they were supposed to be tending a field today but I couldn't remember which one. Come to think of it…I was fairly certain that they were in three different fields.

I knew then that Maggie had known I was the coming the entire time. She'd planned their work schedule for a specific purpose. She had a plan that I was assisting in helping her execute beautifully. I'd done just what she wanted me to do. I'd left her alone with Wanda and Sunny. I considered running back immediately but I knew that this was exactly the situation Jared had warned me about. I needed to find him.

I took off toward the bath cave next, hoping Kyle was still there. I searched high and low, calling his name but there was no answer. I finally tore out of there, almost knocking Lucina over as I exited. I shouted a rushed apology and headed to the closest field. As I reached the entrance I spotted Kyle working with Travis and Candy pulling weeds. If it was possible I ran even faster to him. I reached him panting and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Need…you…in…the…game…room," I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"What's going on?" he asked, confused.

"No time to explain. We need to find Jared and Ian. Wanda and Sunny need us." I turned to leave and heard Kyle drop the trowel in his hand and begin running. I heard his footfalls behind me, falling further and further behind. I now knew that we had to split up, he'd never be able to keep up while we retrieved Jared and Ian.

"I'll get Jared. You get Ian. I'll meet you guys there," I said as I veered off to the left while he turned right.

When I made my way into the next field and saw Jared I almost collapsed into his arms. I hadn't pushed myself in a long time and my body was making me pay for it. No words were needed as he dropped everything and grabbed my hand, leading the way and keeping me on pace.

It seemed like the path to the game room was getting longer as we ran. I couldn't wait to stop so I could end the burning in my lungs but Wanda and Sunny needed me. Wanda, my sister, needed me. I pushed my legs harder and suddenly I was ahead of Jared, dragging him along behind me.

I was the first to enter the room and I was shocked by what I was. Wanda and Sunny were both lying face down on the ground, obviously sedated. Maggie and Sharon were standing over Wanda. Maggie was holding a scalpel in her hand and Sharon was holding a cryo-tank with a glowing red light.

I could hardly bring myself to look at Wanda's body but I knew I had to see what they had done to her. I drew my eyes down her neck and saw an open wound. Upon closer inspection, her insertion scar had been reopened and there was nothing silver or shiny in there.

Oh, God. Wanda had been extracted.

I started hyperventilating, and combined with my sprinting moments before I was suddenly extremely lightheaded. I looked to Jared just as everything went black, urgently whispering, "No!"

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_A/N: I'm going to write Wanda's point of view for the time that Melanie was gone. I normally **hate** changing POVs in a single story but I think it is necessary to explain what happens. That will be the next chapter, which (fingers crossed) I'll have time to write this weekend.  
_

_Review please. Pretty please? See how polite I can be when I want something? And you know how you can return that politeness? By being polite yourself and reviewing haha ;)  
_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: This was harder than I thought it would be. I've been in Melanie's head for so long it was hard to think like Wanda. I'm going to say it again, I __**hate**__ changing POVs but I wanted to tell this story and it really wouldn't have worked any other way._

_Lots of reviews last chapter! Thanks to Forever Your Angel, betty01394, onyxrush707, CullenNumber10, Madusa and The 'Wizard', vampire's kisses 4 me, Vampire-lover19, and JmacKarla for your awesome reviews. Let's keep it up ;)_

_Disclaimer: I own The Host. Unfortunately I don't think having one copy entitles me to break copyright laws. Dang.

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_Wanda POV:

Melanie led the way into the game room and Sunny and I followed her timidly. I was very nervous for this talk with Maggie. I was pretty sure of what she was going to say but I was still apprehensive. I tried to keep my gaze down as much as possible, trying to keep Maggie from seeing the uneasiness in my eyes. She would only feed off of my anxiety.

There were two folding chairs set up across from Maggie, obviously meant for Sunny and me. I didn't like the idea of sitting straight across from her. It would be easier to avoid her gaze if we were standing. She was at least 5 inches taller than me after all.

Maggie was staring at Mel, upset that she'd tagged along. I'm not sure why she didn't expect it though. She had to know everyone's suspicions about this meeting, and that Mel would never let me come alone.

Maggie motioned for Sunny and I to sit and as we did I was aware of her eyes following us, almost as though she were sizing us up as physical threats. I don't know why she bothered. Even if she made me angry there was no way I would lash out at her. I may act a little bit more like a human than the average soul but I would never be comfortable with physical violence.

Maggie took her eyes from me and turned them to Mel. "I don't recall asking you to join us, Melanie," she said, with a hint of sickly sweetness, pretending having Mel there was a good thing. I resisted the urge to groan at her in disdain for her horrible acting, knowing that it would not help my case.

"I just thought I'd come and observe. I'm curious about Wanda and Sunny's new assignment," Mel replied with a smile, though I knew she wasn't sincere. I would have known that even if I didn't know her as well as I knew myself.

I was kind of hoping that maybe Mel would change the subject and stall the airing of Maggie's intentions as long as possible. Even though I knew what was coming – and honestly didn't mind it – I was still terrified that Maggie was going to impose some other ridiculous rule I hadn't seen coming.

"That's fine. You'd find out eventually. I'm sorry I don't have a seat for you," Maggie told Mel. That's fine? She really doesn't care that Mel is here? That's a pleasant surprise. I half expected Mel to have to plead her case to be allowed to stay, maybe even pulling the niece card.

I wondered why Maggie went to such lengths to get Sunny and I alone then allowed Mel to sit in on our meeting. Maybe it wasn't going to be that bad. Maybe Maggie and Sharon changed their minds after Sharon talked to Doc. Maybe she wanted to apologize for treating us so horribly before. Ok, that may be getting a little ahead of ourselves. An apology wasn't likely.

"Actually," Maggie continued. "Since you're going to be here, the others might as well be too. Would you mind going to get Jared, Ian, and Kyle?"

I almost choked. Ian was allowed to be here now? I almost started bouncing in my seat. It would be so much easier if Ian was here to hold my hand through this. Although really, if he's allowed to come then obviously Maggie wasn't planning to say anything that would anger him. Maybe she really was going to apologize. Or at least attempt to make amends somehow.

Mel narrowed her eyes and I knew she didn't trust Maggie at all. "It's all right. I've already promised them a full report."

Maggie squinted. "Still, no offense, I'd rather them hear it first hand instead the embellished version," she said with a smirk.

Mel looked down at Sunny and I to gauge our reactions to this option. I understood her reluctance to leave us to retrieve the guys but it wouldn't take very long. Maggie couldn't do much damage in the five minutes she would be gone. I would do my best to keep the conversation moving as slowly as possible. I nodded slightly, agreeing.

She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes to make her message clear. "Okay, I'll be back. Right away."

She turned and sprinted from the room. As soon as she was gone I turned my attention back to Maggie would was looking at Sunny and I with greedy eyes. She sat in her chair and was about to open her mouth when I cut her off.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to wait for Melanie to get back with the guys. Like you said, it'll be better if everyone hears it first hand," I said diplomatically.

I felt a hand come down and slap me across the face. She'd hit me. I couldn't believe it.

"How dare you speak to me, parasite?" Maggie seethed. This was going downhill fast. I wanted to scream for help, but I knew no one would be close enough to hear it. Mel ran too fast to still be in the hallway and it was rare for this part of the cave to have any traffic this time of day. There was no one to help us, and there wouldn't be until Mel and the guys got back.

My nervousness morphed into fear quickly as Maggie stood from her chair. I kept my hand to my cheek, rubbing away some of the pain while Maggie stood over a terrified Sunny.

"I'm going to do what my brother was too stupid to do. You're the ones that stole my life from me and I shouldn't have to deal with either you." I was absolutely shocked. I knew Maggie didn't like us, but I never thought it was hatred. She didn't even think of us as other living creatures. All that mattered was someone who looked like me turned her life upside down. If I wasn't so afraid of being struck again I would have told her this.

I grew more nervous as I saw Sharon step out of the shadows in the corner of the room. She held a cloth in her hand and a bottle in the other. I could smell it from across the room. It was a smell I'd come across before. Chloroform.

I stood up and started bolting for the door, grabbing Sunny's arm on my way up. Maggie was faster, grabbing both of my arms and holding them behind my back, while Sharon caught up with Sunny. Sharon placed the cloth of Sunny's mouth and Sunny inhaled deeply.

"No, Sunny don't!" I yelled, struggling against Maggie's hold. Sunny went limp in Sharon's arms almost immediately and Sharon let her fall to the floor, landing in a heap. I felt anger take over and I struggled harder. I needed to get Sunny out of here.

"Stop resisting," Maggie whispered harshly in my ear. "There's nothing you can do."

Sharon repositioned Sunny on the floor face down and pushed her hair back from her neck. They were going to extract her now. I fought even harder, knowing that every second I resisted brought Ian one step closer to me. I just hoped I could resist long enough.

Sharon walked to the side of the room and grabbed a cryo-tank I hadn't noticed were in the corner. The other was obviously meant for me. I shuddered, hating the idea of being in the tank. I wasn't aware of anything in the tank except the cold. I always knew it was cold.

As Sharon kneeled over Sunny, Maggie spoke up. "Wait, I want to do this one first," she said angling her head toward me. I didn't care either way. Whether they extracted me first or second, Mel hadn't been gone long. She would never make it back in time to save either of us. I resigned myself to this fate.

I took a deep breath and stopped fighting. "Do what you want to me. If you think I deserve this then go ahead. But just be ready for the reaction. Ian's going to lobby to have you thrown in the hot spring," I warned her. I didn't like making the threat, but I felt like she should know what was coming. Maybe she would reconsider.

She chuckled slightly. "Oh, he can push that all he wants, but I don't know how well that will go over with Kyle on my side," she said smugly.

I gasped, not able to form words. Kyle knew what was going to happen here today and he allowed Sunny to come anyway. I didn't want to believe it. I shook my head, knowing he hadn't changed at all, no matter how much we thought we saw in him. I wish I hadn't found this out. I would have liked to think of Kyle as a better person.

Sharon started walking over to us after reloading her cloth. She smirked at me. "I'm so glad to finally be doing this. I've waited far too long."

She placed the cloth over my mouth and nose and I did my best not to breathe. I felt my lungs burning from the lack of oxygen and I knew I was going to have to gasp for air soon. Finally I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt the darkness creeping up on me and I filled my mind with images of Ian. I focused on his face as everything went black.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: This story just passed 2000 hits. Woohoo! And it got 9 reviews last chapter (so let's shoot for 10 this one :P) Thank you to Madusa and the 'Wizard', shimmershadow30, EdwardAlways, Vampire-lover19, vampire's kisses 4 me, TopKat90, onyxrush707, J.K. Meyer, and Someone aka Me for reviewing. You guys are totally awesome. _

_The next chapter will hopefully be up by the weekend but which day all depends on New Year's Eve. The more fun I have, the later the update will be since I will need more recovery time. But please don't tell me not to have fun :(  
_

_Ok, back to Mel now. I like writing her. I relate to her much better.  


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_I collapsed on the floor with the image of Wanda's mutilated body burned into my brain. I gasped for air while my vision slowly came back, though I was left with dark spots.

"Mel?" Jared was yelling, crouching next to me. "Mel, are you ok?" He was shaking my shoulders.

I was still gasping as I answered. "Help….Wanda."

This was all the instruction he needed, knowing that my top priority was saving Wanda. We couldn't wait for my heart to stop racing. We had to act now. He jumped up and sprinted over to Maggie and Sharon as I tried to calm myself down.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he screamed, storming up to Sharon.

He reached over the grab the tank that Wanda was in and Sharon pulled it away. Jared was lunging again when Maggie stood up and pointed the scalpel at him.

Jared wasn't distracted and continued his movement, grabbing the tank in his left hand while Maggie pulled the scalpel along his right bicep. The wound looked deep but Jared didn't drop Wanda as he stepped away from Maggie and Sharon.

He looked shocked as he staggered backwards. He stayed more than an arms length away as he surveyed his wound. It was bleeding profusely, running all the way down to his fingers already. He looked up and glared.

"Move away from Wanda," he said through his teeth. Sharon took a slight step back, seeing how dangerous Jared looked in his rage but Maggie held her ground.

"No! I will not allow the caves to be plagued with it's toxic ideas. It has no right to be here, just like it has no right to be on this planet!" Maggie ranted, waving her arms.

"Then why put her in a tank?" I demanded, air having returned to my lungs. I walked over to Jared as I kept talking, "Why not just let her die?"

Maggie closed her mouth, unwilling to share her motivations for saving the life of something she hated. I moved my eyes to Sharon. She looked away uncomfortably but I knew she would never answer without her mother's permission. I glared at the pair of them for a long while.

I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Sunny was stirring. Maggie noticed too and stepped forward possessively.

"Sharon, we need more chloroform," she said as if it were something she asked for on a daily basis. Sharon hesitated and glanced to her side about five feet where I saw the bottle and cloth that she had laid on the floor. We were about the same distance away, but I knew I would get to it first.

I lunged a split second before Sharon did. I felt my fingers wrap around the bottle as Sharon's arm rammed into my shoulder. The bottle tilted backward and smashed against the rock, spilling its contents. I climbed to my feet, careful not to breathe too deeply, and smirked at Sharon. Sunny would be awake any second.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Jared had managed to kick the scalpel out of Maggie's hand and it was now crushed under his shoe. Maggie was staring with wide eyes, backing away slowly. She was unarmed now and knew she would be defeated quickly. Jared and I glared at her, willing her to move faster.

When she was a safe distance from Wanda and Sunny I sprinted over to them. I looked at Wanda first.

Her scar was still wide open and I looked around for some Clean to put in the wound. I didn't want her to get an infection. There wasn't any and I realized I shouldn't have been surprised. It wasn't like this body would have survived once Wanda had been extracted. I was still struck by Maggie and Sharon's willingness to allow a human to die because they hated souls. You would think their loyalty to their species would overrule their loathing of souls. Obviously not.

Sunny was now almost fully awake and I turned my attention to her. Jared was still focused on Maggie and Sharon, keeping them in their place with his murderous glare.

I rolled Sunny onto her back and pushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered and I moved a hand to her shoulder. I shook as I said, "Sunny. Sunny, wake up. It's ok. They're not going to hurt you." She looked as if she were waking up from a horrible nightmare. Unfortunately, it was reality.

After a few second her eyelids fluttered and she looked at me. Her eyes welled with tears and they spilled over and she sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck. I was surprised at the contact, knowing that Sunny barely trusted Wanda, let alone me. I wrapped my arms around her back and held her while her tears poured over, all the while glaring at Sharon and Maggie who were starting to slink into the shadows.

Jared moved toward Wanda inspecting the wound on her neck.

"There's some dirt in there. We should probably get some Clean in there before we reinsert Wanda," he said, almost casually.

Sunny sat bolt upright in my arms. "Wanda? What happened to her?" she asked urgently.

I stroked her hair as I answered, trying to keep her from catching sight of Wanda's still sedated form. "Maggie and Sharon extracted her. But it'll be ok. She's in a tank. We'll put her back as soon as we get the wound cleaned out."

Sunny kept sobbing, her shoulders shaking violently. I was not going to be able to calm her down. We needed Kyle. He was the only one that would be able to help her right now. I turned to look at Jared.

"We need Kyle," I informed him. He nodded but knew there was nothing we could do right now. He couldn't leave to go look for him. We had to wait for him to show up with Ian. What was taking them so long? I knew Kyle wasn't doing that well after last night but there was no way he would take this long. And once he found Ian there would be nothing to keep Ian from sprinting ahead. He should be here by now.

I knew Jared was thinking the same thing when he noticed Maggie was chuckling slightly. Jared turned to glare at her.

"What's so funny?" he asked acid seeping into his voice.

"Nothing," she said with a smirk, waving her hands as if she were shooing his question away.

I didn't have time to figure out what was so funny. When it came to Maggie, I could never be certain. Especially today. The only thing I was concerned with was right now was calming Sunny down and getting Wanda out of here safely.

Finally I knew we needed Sunny's help. There was no way we were going to be able to get out of here without her assistance.

"Sunny?" I said quietly. She sobbed louder. I sighed knowing this would not be easy, but right now it was our only option. "Sunny, I need your help." She wailed again. I switched up my tactics. "Sunny, Wanda needs your help right now." She quieted slightly and I knew she was only doing this for Wanda. That was fine with me. I didn't care about her motivations, just the end result.

"What do I have to do?" she asked quietly.

I pulled her away from me so I could look her in the eyes. "All I want you to do is carry Wanda's tank. Can you do that for her?"

Sunny seemed relieved at being assigned a simple job and I gauged her willingness to move. She seemed to be okay so I stood slowly, pulling her up with me.

Maggie and Sharon were stepping further and further back and I knew it wouldn't be long before they were obscured by a shadow and got away. Not that they could hide forever, but I didn't even want to give them the satisfaction of a few more minutes of freedom. I turned to Jared.

"Hand Wanda's tank to Sunny. I'll carry Wanda to the hospital. You keep an eye on those two," I instructed, angling my head toward Sharon and Maggie. He nodded and held the tank out for Sunny to grab.

He seemed okay with this plan. I had no doubt he could handle the two of them by himself. As long as he blocked the door neither of them was going anywhere. He seemed relieved that he didn't have to carry Wanda. Although she wasn't heavy I knew his arm was wounded and holding any amount of weight would probably rip through his bicep easily.

Sunny took Wanda's tank and stared at me waiting for instruction. I just nodded toward the exit and she started walking backwards, never taking her eyes from Sharon and Maggie.

With Jared's hands free he helped me gather Wanda in my arms. He walked with me to the doorway and put a hand on my shoulder as I exited. "If you find Ian and Kyle send them over. If not, could you bring back some Heal once you get Wanda squared away?" His arm was really hurting, but there was nothing I could do for him now. I shot him an apologetic look and turned to head to the hospital.

Sunny was waiting for me a few feet ahead. She looked extremely uncomfortable and I knew all she wanted to do right now was lie on the floor in a ball and cry for days. I couldn't really blame her. Holding Wanda's lifeless form in my arms brought out the same feelings in me. But I had to be strong for Wanda.

I moved as quickly as I could to the hospital and actually broke into a run once the entrance was in sight. I rushed inside and got Doc's attention, setting Wanda on the nearest cot. Doc ran over to me with a look of shock on his face. He surveyed Wanda quickly then faced me.

"Melanie, I'm so sorry. I never thought in a million years she would actually go through with it," he said.

I stared at him with my mouth wide open. "You knew they were planning this?"

"Yes."


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: I know I said I would have this up over the weekend but unfortunately my computer is crap and wouldn't let me on the internet. So there I was sitting there with a chapter written and no way to post it. Were some of you thinking I had __way__ too much fun on New Year's Eve? I probably did haha but I still managed to write something._

_Who is my favorite reader? I'm not sure I can pick just one, but the top nine are CullenNumber10, onyxrush707, TK-MR, vampire's kisses 4 me, J.K. Meyer, EdwardAlways, shimmershadow30, Someone aka Me, and JmacKarla. And they're my faves because they review. Want to be in the running? Review._

_Disclaimer: This isn't mine :(

* * *

__Chapter 13 recap:_

_I moved as quickly as I could to the hospital and actually broke into a run once the entrance was in sight. I rushed inside and got Doc's attention, setting Wanda on the nearest cot. Doc ran over to me with a look of shock on his face. He surveyed Wanda quickly then faced me._

_"Melanie, I'm so sorry. I never thought in a million years she would actually go through with it," he said._

_I stared at him with my mouth open. "You knew they were planning this?"_

_"Yes."_

I was shocked. I didn't know what to say or do. I thought I could trust Doc. Obviously I had been very wrong. I started scooping Wanda back into my arms. I had to get her out of here. I didn't know where we would go, but it wouldn't be here.

Doc put a hand on shoulder to stop me before I got Wanda off the bed. "Don't touch me!" I screamed. "You're just as bad as the rest of them!" I spun around and looked him straight in the eye. "I can't believe I ever trusted you," I said, barely louder than a whisper.

Doc looked hurt and I was glad of it. I was hurt too. And it was partially his fault. The worse he felt the better. "Will you at least let me explain?" he asked me, cautiously.

I didn't have time to listen to his ridiculous excuses. And I wasn't interested. Everyone had their story of how the souls destroyed their lives and how they can't be trusted, no matter how many times they prove themselves. I was sure Doc's would be no different. How could it be? There's no other possible reason for what they did to Wanda. What they were about to do to Sunny. I shuddered at the thought again.

"Why should I do that?" I questioned Doc. "What could you possibly have to say to me that could make up for what you're done? You almost got my sister killed! I have nothing to say to you."

I turned back to Wanda and started picking her up again, determined to ignore Doc as I made my exit. I would take her to my room and send Jared or Ian to get the Clean and Heal so we could reinsert her. I heard Doc moving behind me and I was just about to pull Wanda off of the bed when Doc's arm came down on Wanda's shoulders, pinning her to the bed.

"I will take care of her wound and reinsert her," he told me, malice in his voice. I narrowed my eyes at him and sized him up. I could attempt to shove him off but I wouldn't be able to pick Wanda up fast enough to get away. I knew I couldn't expect Sunny's help; she'd never be part of something violent, even to save the live of another. I groaned internally when I realized I had no choice. I had to allow Doc to do this.

"Fine!" I said angrily. I let go of Wanda and walked over to the cabinet and pulled out the Clean and brought it over to Doc, handing the can over with as much displeasure as I could convey. As he turned her over to work on the back of her neck I watched him like a hawk, making sure he wasn't pulling anything.

With Wanda in the process of being set right again I breathed a sigh of relief.

I glanced over at Sunny who was standing in the doorway still holding Wanda's tank. She had been exceptionally brave today. More brave than I gave her credit for. She still looked terrified but I would have looked the same if I had been through what she had. I made eye contact and she looked to the floor, but slower than usual. It was going to take her a long time to get over this, I was sure, but I think we had made some progress toward becoming friends.

I turned my eyes back to Doc who was shaking his head.

"What?" I asked irritably.

He took a deep breath, not really sure how to explain. Instead of speaking to me he spoke past me to Sunny. This frustrated me to no end.

"Her brainstem is swollen," he stated simply.

Sunny gasped and I knew it wasn't good.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Doc nodded to Sunny, as if asking her to tell me. I had to admit that I would probably believe her much more quickly than I would believe Doc when it came to bad news. I braced myself for bad news.

"You can't insert a soul into a host with a swollen brainstem. She wouldn't bind correctly and it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible for her to return to normal," Sunny whispered.

"So what do we do?" I asked, suddenly terrified. What if Wanda couldn't come back? Would we have to find her a new host? Would we just have to wait for the swelling to go down? I was scared of the answer I would receive.

This time Doc answered. "There's nothing to do but wait."

"How long?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Doc said. I wasn't sure if I believed him. He had incentive to lie.

"Ballpark," I pressed.

He thought before he answered. I still didn't know if he was being sincere or not. "It could be a couple of days or a couple of weeks. It all depends on how significant the trauma was."

I stared at him open mouthed too stunned to speak. He wasn't sure of the significance of the trauma? Wanda had been knocked out and been ripped from her body. It wasn't anything short of horrifying.

A couple of weeks? Wanda's body would starve to death before then. I didn't know what to do. We should probably start looking for a new host for Wanda, but we still had Maggie and Sharon to deal with. Obviously Wanda could stay in the tank as long as it took for us to find her a new host but Ian wouldn't like that.

Speaking of Ian, where was he? Kyle couldn't be that slow, could he? As soon as Ian set foot in the game room Jared would have sent him here. And there was nothing that would get in his way when he knew Wanda was in trouble. I got worried again. What if Maggie and Sharon had somehow gotten the best of Jared and Ian had to stay and help? Whatever the reason, something was wrong.

Someone needed to find Ian. I looked at Sunny again and knew I needed to ask something of her again. I hated to do it but I really had no other choice. I couldn't leave her to watch Doc. If he tried to do something she wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Sunny, can you go find Ian please?" I asked her.

She nodded slightly, knowing the urgency of the situation. She walked over to me and set Wanda's tank at my feet. She moved out the door slowly and I resisted the urge to yell at her to move faster.

I picked the tank up from the floor and set it next to Wanda on the bed. I took a seat next to her, determined to protect her from anyone and everyone until Ian could get here. Then I would go help Jared take care of Maggie and Sharon. They should be scared of me coming to help. I wanted nothing more than to pummel both of them to the ground. I would take out all of my pent up aggressions on them. I could imagine it now. I smirked a little, knowing Jared would let me get a couple of good ones before he pulled me away.

Doc's voice brought me back to the present. "I thought I'd talked Sharon out of it," he said quietly, looking at Wanda with sad eyes. He had no right to be sad. The minute he suspected anything he should have told someone. Anyone. Just because he didn't want Sharon to get in trouble he would have let my sister die. I couldn't understand someone who would do that.

Except I could. I would kill a hundred people to keep Jared and Jamie safe. I'd tried when I had been with Wanda. There was nothing that could convince me that someone else was more important that someone I loved. Maybe that meant I would go to hell. But what did I care about hell? I'd been through it on earth. I could endure it again if I got to be with Jamie and Jared a little bit longer. I couldn't judge Doc for this. I wished he wasn't protecting Sharon but there was nothing I could do. I wouldn't disregard Doc's love just because it was for Sharon.

I shook my head at Doc. "You can't talk Sharon out of anything once she sets her mind to it," I said calmly. I stroked Wanda's hair away from her face, hoping we would be able to reinsert her soon. I'd grown attached to this host, as I'm sure Wanda had too. She was so small, so fragile. She was like my younger sister, only slightly older than Jamie. I knew she was hundreds if not thousands of years older than me, but when I looked at her in that body I felt protective. I missed her dearly already and it had only been about an hour. How could I wait two weeks?

Doc sat on the next cot facing me. The look of pain on his face was heartbreaking. He truly hadn't known Sharon was serious. I looked at him with curiosity.

"You really didn't know what was going on?" I asked.

He looked to the ground as he answered. "I didn't want to see it. You can understand that, right? I wanted to see the best in her. I didn't think she could be so cruel. But I guess she proved me wrong."

I reached out and took Doc's hand. I could never really understand but I hoped to at least empathize. "I'm so sorry."

He gave me a weak smile and stood, walking over to his desk. He picked up a can and brought it over. It was Cool.

"I think this is only for fevers, but maybe it will help," he said, taking a strip and placing it on Wanda's tongue. "Maybe the cold will bring the swelling down."

I nodded at him, thankful that he was trying anything he could think of to bring Wanda back to me sooner.

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_A/N: So I decided to be nice and not leave you with a cliffhanger since I've had a few of those lately. Mostly it's because I can't decide whether I want to bring Kyle to the hospital with Ian or not. So that's why Ian doesn't show up at the end of the chapter. But don't worry he'll be there soon!_

_Remember to review (*cough*I only need 10 to break 100*cough*)_


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Short note. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who reviewed. Over 100 reviews! Awesome. I'd love to hit 150 by chapter 20 *hint hint*. _

_My amazing reviewers: Onyxrush707, Madusa and the 'Wizard', morning-hues, J.K. Meyer, vampire's kisses 4 me, Vampire-lover19, TK-MR, sarah12345, shimmershadow30, EdwardAlways, Someone aka Me, and paper. creations. Thanks guys!_

_Disclaimer: One law I refuse to break is the copyright law. There are others, but that is the only one relevant to this story.

* * *

_I was stroking Wanda's hair, hoping it would be soothing. I knew I should have left Wanda with Doc while I went back to Jared, but I couldn't leave before Ian got here. He was going to be a wreck and needed someone to help him through it. I knew Doc would be able to help a little bit but it would mean more coming from me. I was the one person who loved Wanda almost as much as he did.

I briefly considered asking Doc to help Jared but I knew I couldn't ask him to do that. He would never be able to help hold Sharon prisoner no matter how horrible her actions were. It just wouldn't be right to task that of him.

I was doing my best keeping it together. I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to be able to succeed before I broke down. I was on emotional overload. Not only was my uncle dead but my aunt and cousin were attempted murders. My best friend was gone after a traumatic experience, the first she'd had without me there with her, and I knew when I got her back she wouldn't be quite the same. And on top of everything else Jared was still in the game room, bleeding profusely while I waited for Ian to get here.

I had been sitting there for about a half hour when I heard footsteps coming down the corridor. It had to be Ian. I looked up to Doc. He nodded, knowing that I had to speak to Ian.

I stood and moved to the entrance, hoping to catch Ian before he saw more than he was ready for. As Ian came into view the look on his face was pure terror. I stood in the doorway, blocking his way.

He slowed and came to a stop in front of me. "Where is she?" he asked, panicked.

"She's inside," I explained. "But I have to talk to you before you can see her."

He gave me an incredulous look and tried to push past me but I didn't let him through. "Ian, just listen for a minute," I pleaded. I took a deep breath. "What did Sunny tell you I?"

"Just that Wanda was hurt and in the hospital. I think she was trying to tell me more but I ran away before she got the chance. Can't I just see her please?" His eyes looked ready to spill over with tears. I knew that my reply would cause them to flow freely.

I paused as long as possible, hoping to come up with an easy way to break it to him. I knew he wouldn't appreciate it if I beat around the bush. He was getting impatient, peering around my shoulder, trying to see inside. "Ian," I said, catching his attention. "Maggie and Sharon extracted Wanda. She's in a tank until we can reinsert her."

Ian's face went slack and he stumbled backwards. "What?" he whispered. He stared at the ground as he tried to take this information in. "I don't believe you."

His eyes glazed over with anger and he shoved me out of the way, storming into the hospital. I followed behind, knowing his outburst was just fear for Wanda, not anger at me.

I watched as he stopped short of Wanda's bed, noticing the tank resting next to her. He realized I wasn't lying. He let the information sink in and I saw his knees giving out under him. I did my best to catch him but all I really did was break his fall, which I was guess was better than nothing. I shifted so his head was in my lap and waited for him to come around. He was trying to get up already but I knew better than to allow him to stand yet.

I held him down as best I could. He started flailing around and I knew I wouldn't be able to hang on to him for much longer. I had to calm him down.

"Ian, stop!" He was still pushing against me. "Ian," I said urgently, putting my hand on his cheek, directing his eyes to mine. "I need you to calm down."

He looked at me and I knew he was listening. He took a couple of deep breaths in and out, closing his eyes.

"Ok," I said. "If I let you go, will you promise go sit next to Wanda, and stay sitting while I explain everything to you?"

He opened his eyes and nodded vigorously. I loosened my arms from around his chest and he got to his feet slowly, still reeling from his collapse. He walked over to Wanda and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her. A weak smile crossed his face as he reached a hand out to Wanda's cheek. That smile left his face quickly when she didn't lean her face into his palm as she usually did.

"What happened?" he whispered, not taking his eyes off of her.

I looked to Doc, hoping he would answer, sparing me the task of breaking Ian's heart. But he shook his head. It wasn't Doc's place to say anything. I took a deep breath before I started.

"I went to the meeting. Maggie sent me to find you, Jared, and Kyle. She wanted to talk to all of us together. I found Kyle and sent him to get you while I got Jared and went back to the game room. What took you two so long?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Kyle never came to get me," he said, acid seeping in. He picked one of Wanda's hands while he waited for me to continue.

What had Kyle done then? He probably was back in the bathroom. He didn't look too recovered when I he started running. And he would've had to run right past the latrine. It wouldn't have surprised me if he had stopped. I was angry that he didn't take my request to get Ian seriously, but at the time Maggie and Sharon just wanted to talk. He probably could've missed that.

I continued, annoyance at Kyle passing. He would feel bad enough later, I was sure. "Well, anyway, Jared and I got back to the game room and Maggie had already extracted Wanda and was about to extract Sunny. Jared and I got the scalpel and Wanda's tank away from them while Sunny was waking up. I brought Wanda here while Jared stayed with them," I said. I was about to continue when Ian cut in, speaking to Doc.

"Why haven't you reinserted her yet?" he asked angrily.

I sat next to Ian and took his hand in mine. "That's something else we needed to talk to you about," I started. "Wanda's brainstem is swollen. If we put her back in she won't bind correctly. We have to wait until the swelling goes down."

Ian's eyes widened, helpless shock overtaking his features. He dropped my hand and looked back and forth between Wanda's body and her tank. I saw the decision in his mind and he let go of her body's hand and picked up the tank. It warmed my heart to see he was still so protective over her true form. He wasn't attached to her body at all, just her soul.

"How long?" he whispered, stroking the side of the tank lovingly.

I looked at Doc hesitantly. He finally spoke up. "Up to a couple of weeks."

Ian pushed his lips together and I could tell he was fighting back tears. He closed his eyes and turned his face to the ceiling, obviously contorted in pain. A few tears spilled over in that simple movement and I knew more were to come. I rubbed my hand on his back but it didn't seem to help.

Ian opened his eyes and looked at me; they were red already.

"You should go help Jared," he said. I shook my head. I didn't think he was ready for me to leave yet. "Mel, I'll be fine here without you. Jared needs your help. I just need to be with Wanda," he said, turning back to look at the faint red glowing light.

I nodded and stood to leave. "I need some clean and heal for Jared," I told Doc. He raised his eyebrows in question. "Maggie grazed him with the scalpel before he got it away from her. He's fine, it just needs it closed up," I explained.

Doc nodded and went to his cabinet. He took out a small tube of each. Everything was single serving. I didn't remember Wanda ever raiding for this small size. Doc explained before I even asked.

"I made them myself. Easier for inventory."

I chuckled slightly. Leave it to Doc to take the time to make all of these. I admired his dedication, but realized it was probably his aversion to people taking full bottles of the medicine with them. He was probably unlikely to get it back. It was very smart on his part.

I smiled at him. "Thank you." I turned to Ian and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon," I promised.

He nodded but didn't take his eyes from the tank. He wasn't going to move until Wanda was reinserted. I expected it. I would have to remember to bring him some food later.

I left the hospital and started running to the game room. Hopefully Jared still had things under control. I fought hard against the sinking feeling in my stomach that he didn't.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Whoa, 15 reviews last chapter? That's amazing! To all of my wonderful reviewers: J.K. Meyer, morning-hues, vampire's kisses 4 me, onyxrush707, animelover231, TK-MR, paper. creations, sarah12345, Madusa and the 'Wizard', Someone aka Me, shimmershadow30, pff401, JmacKarla, xXxTwlightfan93xXx, and KuraWulf Thank you for being so awesome!_

_I'm not very sure where this story is going. I deviated from my original outline, and I'm happy I did, it made the story better. The problem is I don't have anything planned except for the very end. I need to find a way to get there haha._

_Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer wishes she was as creative as me and thought of the Host. Oh, wait. Reverse that. I don't own this._

* * *

I ran as fast as I could to the game room. I needed to get there as soon as possible in case Jared needed my help. As I pushed my legs faster all sorts of horrible worst-case scenarios ran through my mind.

What if Maggie and Sharon somehow got past him? What if they hurt him? I shuddered at the thought. What if they had others on their side that turned the tables on Jared? I shook my head violently. I couldn't think like that. Jared was fine. He was probably sitting by the doorway, keeping Maggie and Sharon in the game room until I returned to help deal with them. Yeah, that's exactly what he was doing. I hoped.

I needed to get to Jared now. I cursed the distance I still had to go, knowing that every second I took was longer that Jared had to hold them without me, more blood he would lose from the gash on his arm, more time Maggie and Sharon could smugly sit without any bruises or broken bones. I would fix that last one rather quickly once I got there. I started thinking about my plan of attack for them but decided it would make me feel better if I just went with the flow. I closed my eyes, imagining taking out my aggression on Sharon, wiping that self-righteous smile off of her face.

Finally, after what felt like forever, I reached the game room. I ran in, scanning the room quickly.

I panicked. I didn't see anyone. Had Maggie and Sharon escaped and Jared was chasing after them? I hoped not. I knew that Jared would catch up to them eventually but there was no way he could subdue both of them if they were running. One of them would get away. I narrowed my eyes. That couldn't have happened. Maybe Kyle had actually showed up and helped him move them somewhere else. That would be the first useful thing he'd done all day.

I didn't think so. If Kyle had made it here, he would have stopped for Ian first. And Ian hadn't seen Kyle before he went to the hospital. I was fairly certain that Kyle was still regretting last night in the bathroom. So Jared had to be here somewhere.

"Jared?" I called out, peering into the shadows. I saw a figure move, and Maggie stepped out into the light.

"Sorry, sweetheart," she said with a mocking smile. "Jared is unavailable at the moment."

Oh my god. What was wrong with Jared? My stomach fell to my feet. I could barely stand except I knew that I had to get to him. I took a couple of unsure steps forward, knowing that I would have to get Maggie out of the way. She wouldn't move unless I forced her. I would have no problem doing that. I didn't know what she had done to Jared but I knew that if he even had a scratch on him it would be an unforgivable offense. And since she'd already sliced him with the scalpel I had no qualms about using more force than necessary.

I was about to reach out to strike her out of the way when a hand came from behind her and swiped her across the face, leaving her in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Jared stepped forward into the light, looking down at her. "Liar," he sneered.

I let out a huge sigh of relief. He was alright. They hadn't hurt him. I threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly to me. I was so relieved I sobbed slightly into his shoulder. I'd thought I'd lost him, no matter how short the time. I couldn't deal with that.

"Don't worry babe, I'm fine," he assured me, rubbing my back.

I pulled back and nodded. I gave him a weak smile, but I knew I wasn't very convincing.

He put a finger under my chin, tilting my face up to his. His eyes seared into mine. "I am absolutely fine. Did you really think those two could get the best of me?" he asked with a chuckle.

I laughed slightly too. "No, but you never know. They're conniving. They could have planned this all along."

He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I don't think so. I was just making Sharon tie a tourniquet on my arm," he said, showing me his bandaged arm. I noticed that his shirt was slightly shorter than it had been earlier. The missing strip was now wrapped around his arm. I smiled. At least he'd put them to work, doing something useful.

I was glad he was alright but I shrugged. I knew he didn't take Maggie and Sharon as seriously as I did, but now that I was here I could be serious enough for the both of us.

"How's Wanda?" he asked me.

I felt my stomach drop again. Not because of what had happened to Wanda, but because over the last 10 minutes she hadn't crossed my mind once. I felt absolutely terrible. Wanda was my sister and I'd ignored her, worrying about Jared. When she woke up I would have to make it up to her somehow. I wasn't sure how, but I would do something really nice for her to make up for being so self-centered just now.

I took a deep breath and looked at Jared with pain in my eyes. "She has a swollen brainstem. Doc can't reinsert her until the swelling goes down. It could be a couple of weeks," I explained. I looked down to the ground, giving Wanda a silent moment. My reflection was marred but Sharon's quiet giggling.

My eyes grew wide. Was she laughing at Wanda's situation? Even if she wasn't she had more than a few serious blows coming her way, and I was more than willing to deliver them.

I stepped past Jared and over Maggie, who was still lying on the floor. Sharon was sitting a few feet back in the shadows. I stepped to her and her expression changed from amusement to fear.

Good.

"Something amusing about you almost killing my sister?" I asked her, my expression calm. The calm before the storm.

She shook her head violently, trying to save herself from my wrath at all costs. It wasn't going to work.

I brought my arm back and connected with her skull in an instant. I didn't hit her as hard as I could've but I was going for the element of surprise. Plus, I was pretty sure hitting her this hard was enough. She'd always been a baby when it came to getting hit. She fell over into the fetal position, screaming like I had just ripped one of her limbs off….Now, that wasn't a half bad idea. Not that Jared would ever let me. That might just be considered cruel and unusual punishment. But wasn't taking my sister away from me cruel and unusual? I didn't think Jared would go for that argument.

I pulled my foot back, about to kick her in the side when I felt Jared's hand on my shoulder.

"You don't want to do that," he told me.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Oh I think I do," I replied, though I lowered my foot. I knew that while it would feel really, really good for a minute, it wouldn't look as good later when we took them in front of the tribunal. Black eyes and broken ribs tended to make people sympathetic. I couldn't allow that.

I stepped back from Sharon, heading back to my previous spot with Jared following me. I turned as he took the last few steps to me and noticed a small wince when he moved his arm. I scrutinized his injury. He needed to get it healed before we could do anything else. He was barely using that arm at all.

"What do you say I heal that for you?" I asked him, nodding to his arm.

He smiled. "That sounds great."

He took a seat on the floor while I walked back to the doorway where I had dropped the Clean and Heal. I sat down next to him and lightly untied the tourniquet from his arm. It was covered in blood. I was glad he'd gotten that on there when he did.

I picked up the Clean and squeezed the entire tube onto the cut. "So what are we going to do with them?" I asked as I rubbed it in.

"I was thinking we could put them in the storage cave until we can have the tribunal. We can call it for tonight or tomorrow. What do you think?" he asked me.

He was asking my opinion? He was never uncertain of his decisions. What could he possibly be hesitant about? That seemed perfectly fair to me. Then I realized he was asking me what I thought about their accommodations. I had spent a fair amount of time crouched up in that storage cave, much longer than Maggie and Sharon would have to endure. It was a horrible experience being in that cave but for those two I wasn't sure it would be enough.

"I think that's fine. And don't worry," I assured him as I reached for the tube of Heal. "They'll both fit."

He smiled at me as I rubbed the Heal on. "Sometimes I think you're a little sadistic," he told me.

I laughed. "Maybe just a little bit."

I was finished with the Heal and rubbed my fingers over Jared's cut that was now just a pink line. He'd need to get some Smooth for it later but for now it was perfectly okay. I leaned down and kissed it lightly.

"All better," I murmured. He moved his arm from side to side and up and down. Apparently feeling no discomfort he moved his arm behind me to rest around my waist.

"Thank you," he whispered before leaning in to kiss me. It was short and very sweet. And interrupted by Maggie's obnoxious throat clearing.

"I don't need to see that," she said, turning her nose up at us.

I just smirked at her. "Then turn around," I prompted, twirling my finger around to direct her. I leaned back in and kissed Jared again. My lips connected with his and moved my tongue to his lips, begging for entrance.

Jared chuckled and pulled back. "Don't be too mean, Mel. Besides we need to get these two moving."

I nodded, standing, then pulled him up next to me. "I'll take Sharon, you take Maggie?" I offered.

Jared nodded and Sharon's eyes grew wide. She was afraid of me. Excellent.

* * *

_A/N: The next chapter will be Maggie and Sharon trying to explain themselves to Jared and Melanie. It won't do them a whole lot of good except to help Jared and Mel see their true intentions._

_Does anyone know of any good stories out there? I feel like almost all of the stories I have on alert are ending and I need some new ones. Host, Twilight, doesn't matter. If know have any suggestions, send me a PM and let me know!_

_Thanks for reading and be sure to review!_


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Sixteen reviews last chapter? Holy crap! You guys are too nice! Vampire-lover19, Forever Your Angel, TK-MR, vampire's kisses 4 me, onyxrush707, Animelover231, sarah12345, pff401, morning-hues, shimmershadow30, JmacKarla, tonks90210, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, EdwardAlways, mediate89, and Someone aka Me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!_

_I wrote a lemon for a Twilight contest. It's call For the Good of the Pack and it features Nessie and Quil. If you want to read it then vote for me in the contest that would be great ;) You should read the other stories too. Some of them are really good if you're into lemons._

_Disclaimer: If I had three wishes I would wish for the creativity to come up with the Host. (And Leonardo Dicaprio and 50 billion dollars.) Unfortunately there aren't any genies around here. So I don't own the Host._

* * *

Jared and I escorted Maggie and Sharon to the storage cave quickly. I held Sharon's hands behind her back in one hand as she walked in front of me. I kept the other hand on her shoulder as a security measure. She would not escape me.

Jared had Maggie in a similar position, though he was less rough in his motions. Maggie wouldn't have bruises like Sharon would. I smirked at the thought.

When had I become so brutal? I was taking pleasure in another person's pain. I'd thought Wanda had taught me better than this. Then I remembered Wanda was gone. And I remembered why I was inflicting this pain. I squeezed Sharon's wrists a little bit tighter and she whimpered in pain. It wasn't nearly enough.

We passed a few people on the way that stopped to give us curious looks. Jared only said, "Meeting tonight," and kept walking. We weren't stopping to tell everyone the sordid story only to have it get distorted and exaggerated before we had the chance to set the record straight. We were going to make sure this was done right.

When we finally reached the cave I shoved Sharon harder than necessary and she fell to her knees. Jared released Maggie's hands and nodded to the hole in the wall. "In there," he prompted.

Maggie looked at him incredulously. I guess she hadn't thought we were serious about making her go in there. I chuckled slightly. Oh, how wrong she was.

"I'm not going in there," she said, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.

Jared raised his eyebrows at the challenge. "Oh yes you are," he informed her. "After what you did you should be happy we didn't toss you straight in the hot spring."

I smirked. Now that was an idea.

"Why didn't you?" Maggie challenged.

Jared widened his stance and stared into her eyes. "I guess I'm just a sucker for due process. I'll wait for someone else to tell me to. Then I'll throw you in without a second thought."

Maggie's jaw dropped, realizing he was serious. Maybe she thought that the bruises I inflicted were going to be the worst of her troubles. I wondered why she was so delusional. There would be ramifications to this. How could she not know that?

Maggie sighed and bent down to crawl into the hole, moving slowly, her joints creaking no doubt. She was about to cross inside when I spoke up.

"I want to know why," I said suddenly. Maggie stopped moving and looked back at me.

She sighed and turned back to the hole. "You know why," she said in a defeated voice.

"I do. But I need to hear it anyway. I need to hear why you hate my sister so much that you would try to kill her," I prompted.

She turned and sat on the ground looking up at us. Sharon took the opportunity to pull herself up and sat across from her on the opposite wall. I glared at her and she went to sit next to her mother. I wasn't going to be making myself dizzy trying to glare at both of them at the same time.

"I'm waiting," I said impatiently. I knew she was only doing this to keep out of the cramped cave a little while longer but I didn't care about her intentions. All that mattered was I would get the answers I wanted. Not the ones I wanted to hear though. If they were the answers I wanted to hear then I wouldn't be in this situation. My aunt and cousin wouldn't have tried to kill my sister.

The answers I wanted to hear strayed further than just Maggie and Sharon's acceptance of Wanda and Sunny into our group. I wanted them to tell me that all of this was just a dream. That tomorrow I would wake up as the naïve thirteen year old I had been before all of this had started. That I could live a normal life, go to high school, get mad at my parents for setting a curfew. I'd missed all of that.

I shook my head. I couldn't concentrate on that. While there was no doubt that my life was more difficult due to the souls I wouldn't change it. Their invasion had brought me not only Wanda but Jared as well. I didn't doubt that we would never even have met without the souls. I knew I would never love someone as much as I loved him but if we never met how would I have known there was something better out there? I got physically sick whenever I thought of a life without Jared. I was thankful for him everyday so in turn I was thankful to the souls for bringing us together.

It had taken me a long time to accept this but now that I had, I wished I could make Maggie and Sharon understand. I thought I had been doing a good job of showing them but I guess I hadn't. I stared expectantly at Maggie waiting for her to begin.

"I don't know what you think I'm going tell you that you don't already know," she said with annoyance in her voice.

Jared took a seat at the entrance and gestured for me to do the same. Apparently I was intimidating when I was standing over them. But intimidation was my goal. I sighed anyway and sat down directly across from the pair.

"Try," I said, acid seeping into my voice.

Sharon looked down at the floor before she started speaking. "We hate the souls. Obviously. They ruined our lives."

"I know that," I said with annoyance. "I want to hear specifically why you decided to take it out on Wanda and Sunny."

"It wasn't personal," Maggie said carefully.

"Bullshit," I countered. "It was personal."

"If you already know everything then why bother asking?" Sharon asked irritably.

"You know what? I don't know. You don't deserve to be allowed to speak."

I turned around and faced Jared, no longer interested in hearing anything that came out of either of their mouths.

"Fine," Maggie said, resigned. "I'll try to explain it."

"Mom!" Sharon whispered urgently. That was my clue that Maggie might actually tell me the truth. I turned back to them and looked at them expectantly.

"No, Sharon I'm going to tell them. They need to understand that we didn't do it because we're selfish. We did it to protect them."

"Protect us?" Jared asked with interest. "And why did you think we needed to be protected from two 100 pound girls?"

"It wasn't the hosts we needed to be protected from. It's the parasites inside. You were too close to them. It couldn't be allowed. Your vision was cloud by your fondness for them. They had too much freedom. They could have exposed us at any time."

I clenched and unclenched my fists. I had to keep reminding myself that I had asked for them to tell me this.

"They wouldn't have," I argued. "They love us more than we deserve to be loved."

Sharon was getting impatient with my unwillingness to understand. "Don't you get it? We didn't do it because they were souls. We did it because they were souls and you loved them," she said with narrowed eyes.

My mouth hung open as I registered this. They weren't trying to protect us. They were trying to hurt us. They were jealous, plain and simple. They didn't like that we had accepted them into our group and they were punishing us more than they were punishing Wanda and Sunny.

A new wave of anger washed through me as I realized that Wanda and Sunny were just pawns in their larger plan.

Jared saw me about to boil over. "Why the tanks?" he cut in. My anger subsided slightly. I had been curious about that too.

"Excuse me?" Maggie asked.

"If you hated them so much why didn't you just kill them?" I added.

Both were silent.

"Kyle said he wouldn't help us if we killed them. He said we had to put them in tanks and send them off," Sharon stated simply.

"Kyle?!?!" Jared and I both cried at the same time.

I was suddenly panicked. Kyle had known what they were going to do. And Sunny was with him right now. A dozen worst case scenarios ran through my head as I stood up. I couldn't worry about his intentions right now. Sunny could be in danger.

"I need to find Sunny," I said to Jared as I turned and ran down the corridor.

* * *

_A/N: As requested, here's another cliffhanger haha. Just wait until you hear why Kyle helped them. (I just made it ever more cliffy didn't I? :) Good haha.)_

_Please review? All you have to do it click a button and type some words. It's not as hard as you think :P_


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Woohoo quick update! I just had to write this chapter (and it's the longest chapter yet hehe). I'm not sure when the next update will be but I hope I'll have time to write it soon. School just sucks all the fun out of life._

_Vampire's kisses 4 me, onyxrush707, pff401, JmacKarla, TK-MR, EdwardAlways, sarah12345, xx. michelle. moran. xx, xXxTwilight93xXx, staplerrr Madge xD, Someone aka Me, shimmershadow30 are the best reviewers ever! Thank you!  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own this

* * *

_I ran as fast as I could. I had to find Sunny. I had to keep her away from Kyle. He was dangerous. I couldn't believe I'd thought he had grown. He was the same close-minded ass he had been when I first got here.

As I ran I realized that I probably should have sent Jared after Sunny. If Kyle was doing anything other than talking to Sunny I wasn't going to be able to intervene. I had a flashback to when Kyle attacked Wanda. He almost threw us into the hot spring. We barely got away and I was in the background trying to help Wanda be more violent. Sunny didn't have any help. She would probably hop into the spring if Kyle told her to.

I checked the bathroom first. When I found no one around I went to Kyle and Sunny's room. I pushed the curtain aside and found Sunny in a ball on the bed. She was asleep but her cheeks were tear-stained, no doubt due to the traumatic experience she'd had with Wanda. Kyle was no where to be seen.

I sat down on the bed next to her. I considered not waking her but I needed to get her out of here.

"Sunny?" I said softly, rubbing her back. She stirred slightly, cracking her eyes open.

When she saw it was me she clamped her eyes shut and started shaking. A sob broke through as she said, "Go away, please."

I stroked her hair as I tried to persuade her. "Sunny, I'm sorry but I can't. We need to get you out of here."

She sniffed and raised her head to look at me. "Why?"

I didn't want to tell her about Kyle. It would be much easier to explain once I got her out of here and to somewhere safe, though where that would be I had no idea. That seemed like the most logical plan.

In the end I knew that there was no way she was going to leave this room unless she felt like she was in danger here. I sighed loudly as I realized I was going to have to scare her out.

"You can't be here when Kyle comes back," I started. "He's dangerous-"

"I know," Sunny cut me off.

I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. "How do you know that?"

She stared at me and I saw her shut down before my eyes. She wasn't going to tell me. I should have expected it. I mean she had just opened up to me for the first time two hours ago. She wasn't going to do a complete 180 in that time. I had to accept this and work with what I could.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want," I assured her. "But we really do need to get you out of here."

I took her hand in mind and gestured toward the door. She nodded slightly and got up from the bed, not letting go of my hand. I turned to push the curtain out of the way when she spoke up.

"He told me he didn't want to see me again," she whispered.

I stopped moving and didn't risk turning around. She was talking and I had to do my best from scaring her into stopping. I stood still and waited for her to continue.

"I found Ian and sent him to the hospital and I was really shaken up. I thought being with Kyle would help so I went to find him. When he saw me he was shocked. He didn't speak for a full minute. Then he started screaming. 'I can't believe it! They didn't do it!'

"He was ranting and at first I didn't understand. Then I realized he was talking about Maggie and Sharon. And that he expected me to be extracted. I just stood there, waiting for him to say something to me. He just kept yelling. Finally he realized I was still there. He looked down and me and told me to get away from him and that he never wanted to see me again.

"I ran away as fast as I could. I didn't know where to go so I just came back here. I don't know why he did that to me Melanie. I thought he loved me. Not just Jodi, me. But I guess I was wrong," she finished, tears streaming down her face.

I turned back to her and pulled her into a hug. I knew she wouldn't push me away as I wrapped my arms around her. We stood there, longer than we should have, as she sobbed. Finally, when she calmed slightly I pulled back and looked at her.

"I am so sorry, Sunny," I said. "But we really need to get out of here."

She nodded and I took the lead again heading out. I wasn't sure where to go.

I thought about putting her in my room but she would have to walk right by Kyle's cave if she went anywhere. I decided on putting her in Wanda and Ian's cave. Until Wanda was back Ian wasn't going to be leaving the hospital so Sunny would have the room to herself.

I led her to the red and gray doors and started to push one aside.

"No," she said firmly.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"I'm not going in there. I'm not staying in Wanda's room while she's in the hospital. I'll stay in the hospital with her," Sunny stated.

I nodded. This was good. I wanted to check on Wanda, and I needed to tell Ian about Kyle. It was a good thing that Ian wouldn't leave Wanda's side, otherwise Kyle would be dead for sure.

I led Sunny again and when we reached the main cave I saw Jamie pulling some weeds. He ran up to me, eager to hear how the meeting had gone. He was about to bubble over with excitement when he saw Sunny's somber expression and my own chiding look.

"What happened?" he asked warily.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him about this just yet. He was just as attached to Wanda as I was, if not more. This would hurt him. But not telling him and having him find out later would only hurt him more. I decided on the minimum of details.

"Maggie and Sharon attacked Wanda and Sunny." I waited as he took this in. He glanced at Sunny discovering that she looked nothing more than shaken. I wished I didn't have to tell him about Wanda. "They extracted Wanda. Jared and I barely stopped them before they got to Sunny."

Jamie's eyes widened with shock. I fought the urge to hug him, knowing that he would want to be treated like an adult in this situation.

"Is Wanda going to be okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "They put her in a tank, but her host isn't ready for her to go back in yet. We might have to wait a little while to reinsert her."

He nodded taking this all in. For a second he looked like his eyes were going to spill over but he composed himself and stuck his jaw out, determined to be strong through this.

I gave him a weak smile. I was so proud of him.

"What can I do to help?" he asked.

I thought for a moment. "Can you start spreading the word that we're having a meeting tonight? Don't say why, just make sure everyone knows it's mandatory."

He nodded and started away. "And when you're done could you bring some food to Jared at the storage cave and Ian in the hospital?" I asked.

"Are Maggie and Sharon at the storage cave?" he asked knowingly.

I nodded. "If you want you can bring some food for them too. But if it was up to me I'd let them starve."

He gave me a half-smile as he turned to leave. I watched him walk away then turned back to Sunny.

"Ready?" I asked her. She nodded and we made our way back to the hospital.

As we were crossing through a larger corridor we passed Trudy who stopped. "Melanie!" she said, catching my attention.

I faced her, sure she'd already heard a rumor. I wasn't disappointed.

"I heard Maggie and Sharon's meeting with Wanda and Sunny didn't go well. What happened?" she asked. I wished I could tell her, knowing she wouldn't go spreading it around but I knew that we wanted everyone to hear it at once.

"I'm sorry, but we've decided we're telling everyone all at once at a meeting tonight. Keep the rumor mill from working overtime," I explained.

She nodded. "I understand," she said with disappointment.

I gave her a sympathetic look then headed straight for the hospital. We crossed into the room and it was exactly as I'd left it, though Ian had switched positions.

Ian was now lying next to Wanda's body, holding it tight with one hand and holding her tank in the other. He appeared to be asleep. I smiled slightly at the sight before me. As much as he hated to admit it, he had gotten attached this host. He always said it didn't matter what she looked like, and we knew that deep down none of us cared. But we were used to this host. We were comfortable with her. I hoped we would all have the chance to see Pet roaming the halls again.

Doc was sitting at his desk, flipping absently through a medical book, not really reading anything. He was distraught and I knew that focusing on anything like that would be too much for him. But he didn't know what else to do.

He noticed our entrance and motioned for us to sit on the cots across from his desk.

"What happened?" he asked. I knew he was referring to Sharon and her current circumstances.

I obliged him with the information he wanted. "Jared and I moved Maggie and Sharon to the storage cave. We're having a tribunal tonight."

He nodded, his face obviously pained. He knew Sharon deserved whatever was coming to her but that didn't mean he wanted to see it happen.

"I think I'll stay here for that," he announced.

"If you think that's best," I allowed. I knew Doc should be there but I didn't think it would be good to have someone there asking for leniency right off the bat. I would prefer it if he stayed here.

"Also," I leaned in closer to him, whispering. "They said Kyle was involved." I whispered not only for Sunny's benefit, but for Ian's as well. I wasn't completely sure if he was asleep and this would be a horrible think to shock him awake with.

Doc's jaw dropped. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "They told me and Sunny confirmed it."

"Where is he now?" Doc asked.

"I'm not sure. I think it would be good if we didn't let on that we know right away so that he will go to the tribunal tonight. If we had to get him there by force it would make things more difficult."

Doc nodded, agreeing with me.

I stood from my seat and went to sit next to Wanda. Ian's arm was wrapped so tightly around her I was surprised she was still breathing. I brushed the hair out of her face and held one of her hands, willing the swelling to go down. I needed her here with me.

I sat there for awhile when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I brought my gaze and saw Kyle enter the room.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry for not explaining Kyle's reasons in this chapter but I decided it would fit better in the next one. Can't wait to write it. As soon as I have time it will be up!_

_Reviews are awesome!_


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: I told you I wanted to write this chapter. I was so excited for it I knocked it out in an hour. And that's like record pace for me. So here is the chapter that most (if not all) of you have been waiting for. Kyle's explanation._

_To my amazing reviews: A few chapters back I hinted that I would love to get 150 reviews by chapter 20 and I thought that was shooting kind of high. Now here I am flirting with 160 reviews after 18 chapters. It is amazing, let me tell you! Whenever I see that I have a review I get really excited and can barely wait for the email to load so I can see what it says. They make my day, no matter how long or short (though the long ones are generally more entertaining haha)._

_Disclaimer: If I owned the Host, there would be a sequel would be out by now. So obviously, I don't own the Host._

* * *

Kyle stormed into the room and confronted Doc. He didn't seem to notice there was anyone else in the room, which worked out in our favor.

"Doc, what the hell man?" Kyle demanded. Apparently Kyle thought Doc was in the on the plan too. "How could you let them get caught like that?"

He was facing Doc, with his back to us. I took the opportunity to shake Ian awake.

Sunny sat on the far side of the room, her knees pulled up to her chest, rocking back and forth, just staring at Kyle.

Ian looked at me with bleary eyes and I wished I was waking him up under different circumstances. I wished I would have been able to tell him about Kyle before he found out about it first hand.

He saw Kyle standing there and jumped up.

"Kyle, thank God you're here," he said, rushing over to his brother.

Ian wrapped his arms around a confused Kyle and I just sat with my mouth hanging open. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't tell Ian about Kyle while he was hugging him. I'd never seen this kind of affection between the brothers. Ian must have thought they shared the bond of the women they loved being attacked. It was painful to watch.

Ian was rambling now. "Can you believe what they did? It's horrible." He was close to tears and Kyle was getting angry.

Kyle couldn't blow up at Ian. That was not how Ian could find out.

I wanted to shout at Kyle. I wanted to pummel him to the ground for what he had done. I wanted to know why and I would beat his head against the ground until I got my answer. But for now I had to think about Ian.

I walked up behind Ian and put a hand on his back. "Ian? Will you sit on the bed for a minute?"

He sniffed and looked at me, letting go of Kyle. "Why?"

I narrowed my eyes at Kyle. "There's something important you need to know."

Ian shrugged his shoulders and sat next to Wanda, picking up her hand. Kyle looked like he was about to boil over. I turned to him quickly and gave him a menacing look.

"You've done enough to hurt your brother. You will not crush him by shouting right now. Let me tell him quietly," I whispered, poking him in the chest with my finger. Apparently, he dug somewhere deep inside and found the compassion he rarely used. He nodded.

I spun back to Ian. "What's going on?" he asked warily. He couldn't take any more bad news right now. The only small consolation I had to offer him was that it had nothing to do with Wanda's condition.

"Nothing's changed with Wanda," I assured him taking one of his hands in mine. I hoped this small gestured comforted him, if only slightly. "You just need to know more about the circumstances of the attack this morning."

He nodded and I continued. "You know that I sent Kyle after you but he never came to find you. We thought that he just went to the bathroom because he was still sick." Ian nodded and glanced to Kyle wondering where this was heading. I considered making Kyle tell him what had happened but I had to be conscious of Ian's fragile state. If Kyle used the word parasite in this room, Ian would probably kill him without a second thought.

"Ian, he didn't go to the bathroom. He just didn't come find you."

His jaw dropped. "Why would you do that?" he asked, addressing Kyle directly. I shot Kyle a pleading look, hoping he would be tactful about it.

Instead Kyle just shook his head and stared at the ground, allowing me to continue.

"He was working with them, Ian. Maggie and Sharon. He was in on the whole thing."

I saw Ian's eyes harden as he ripped his hand away from mine. He stood and seemed to be charging up to Kyle. I was tensed for the brawl that would ensue, as was Kyle, it appeared. Halfway to Kyle, Ian sunk to his knees and caught his head in his hands.

"Why?" he asked before he started weeping.

His sobs were silent and heartbreaking as his shoulders heaved. His brother had betrayed him and conspired to take the love of his life from him. There was no greater offense than the one Kyle had committed.

Kyle looked dejected as he stared at his brother writhing on the ground in anguish. He had never meant to cause this. He honestly had not thought of his brother at all in this situation. He hated Wanda and Sunny and didn't care who it hurt to get them out of here. He was truly a monster.

I knelt next to Ian and pulled him to my body. He struggled against me at first but in the end allowed me to lead him to the cot next to Wanda's.

I sat next to him and rubbed his back as he let his tears flow, not able to form sentences to express himself. I didn't realize Kyle was moving until he was hovering next to us.

"Will you at least let me tell you why?" he asked, apparently thinking there was a plausible explanation for this.

Ian pulled his head up and just stared at him. Could Kyle really be that stupid?

"What could you possibly have to say? You ruined my life. You're no brother of mine," Ian barked.

Kyle's anger was rising again but I didn't give him a look to quell it. Ian was getting riled up too. And I had a feeling Kyle didn't want to be anywhere near Ian when he finally let loose.

"She's lying!" he shouted, pointing toward Sunny. "She found Jodi and she keeps telling me she's not there!"

I closed my eyes in pain, unwilling to look at Kyle again. How had he convinced himself of this? This was beyond delusional. I cracked one to look at Sunny who was hiding her face in her knees, sobs wracking through her body.

Doc finally broke the silence. "How can you be so sure?"

"Maggie and Sharon told me."

Ian snorted and I thought I was going to have to restrain him. Now that Kyle was talking I really didn't want Ian to kill him just yet. Instead Ian was just as interested to hear about Kyle's hallucinations.

"And you believed them?" I asked incredulously.

"No, not at first. But then she started doing all of these things that Jodi used to do. She started twirling her hair around her finger, and saying 'you know' after every sentence. Little things. Her laugh even sounds more like Jodi's. It didn't take me long to realize that Jodi was influencing her more than before. She's back. She's in there, I know it! I just wanted her back and now you're protecting that worm!" Kyle finished with a point at Sunny who had peeked her head up to hear this story.

I was about to refute Kyle's claims, saying that Sunny just knew what Kyle loved about Jodi and was trying to be that person for him, but Ian cut me off.

"Jodi never did any of those things," he said disbelievingly.

"What?" Kyle asked, shocked that Ian had even spoken.

"Jodi never played with her hair or said 'you know'. She was an English major remember. She always yelled at me because my grammar sucked."

Kyle let this sink in. What the hell was going on? Was Kyle actually delusional? Was he seeing things that weren't there?

When Kyle didn't say anything Ian kept going. "Those aren't the things you loved about Jodi. Those are the things you love about Sunny."

My jaw dropped, along with Doc's and Sunny's. We all stared at Kyle as he came to terms with this new revelation.

He started to stay something but just ended up stuttering. "I—but…she–Jodi…" he trailed off. There were no words for what he had done. He had tried to kill not only the body he loved but the soul he loved inside it.

He turned and dashed out of the room. I stood to go after him but Ian grabbed my hand, holding me back.

"Don't chase after him. He needs to think." I didn't care. Kyle couldn't be allowed off by himself. He deserved to be in the storage cave with Maggie and Sharon. Ian acknowledged this as he continued. "He feels remorse. He'll be at the tribunal tonight to fully atone for his actions."

I couldn't believe what Ian was saying. Did he forgive Kyle for what he had done?

Ian answered my unspoken question as if he had read my mind. "We O'Sheas are very honorable when we know we've done something wrong. If we leave him alone long enough he won't even argue his sentence."

I looked at Ian as he turned his focus back to Wanda. He'd had a horrible day and it seemed that now he'd come to terms with the fact that his brother may very well be killed for his actions. He looked exhausted as he lay down next to Wanda, picking her tank up again.

Doc was still standing with his mouth hanging open. This hadn't been a turn of event he had been expecting. It had stunned the hell out of me too.

I glanced over at Sunny and was shocked by what I saw. She was still rocking back and forth on the bed but her expression had completely changed. Instead of a look of terror on her face, it was replaced by a smile wider than I had ever seen.

It didn't take me long to realize why.

Kyle loved her. Her. Not just Jodi, but the soul inside. It was the single most wonderful moment of her life.

I knew her joy would be replaced by worry for Kyle's fate soon enough, but for now I let her enjoy it. It was so rare that anyone in these caves felt the unadulterated bliss of love reciprocated. How I wished we could all feel that way forever.

* * *

_A/N: Did I do a good job of explaining Kyle's motivations? Does he seem slightly less evil and more human now? Because that's what I was going for. Obviously he's still going to have to answer for his actions, but he's hopefully a little more sympathetic now. Good or bad, let me know and review!_


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Chapter 20, here we are. I'm super excited. Another record breaker. This is the longest one yet!  
_

_Thanks for all of the amazing reviews last chapter. I like that most of you hate Kyle slightly less. That's what I was going for._

_Thank you to Vampire-lover19, paper. creations, xx. michelle. moran. xx, TK-MR, sarah12345, onyxrush707, morning-hues, mediate89, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, EdwardAlways, shimmershadow30, pff401, vampire's kisses 4 me, JmacKarla, Animelover231, and Someone aka Me for reviewing! _

_Disclaimer: I'm doing this for free. Can you imagine how much better it would be if I got paid? Oh, wait. I can't because I don't own this. :(_

* * *

I spent the afternoon with Ian. He told me repeatedly that there were other things I could be doing, but I just shook my head. He needed someone right now. With Wanda gone and Kyle's betrayal I was the closet friend he had.

I wandered the room, giving him his space but keeping an eye on him. If he were to slip off the edge of grief again I wanted to be able to comfort him as soon as possible.

Doc checked Wanda's brainstem again and told us she was making quick progress. He would keep checking her at regular intervals. He thought he would probably be able to reinsert her tomorrow or the next day. I didn't like how he emphasized the word probably.

Jamie brought food for all of us and I had to persuade Ian to eat. He was refusing. He argued that if Wanda couldn't eat then neither would he.

I reminded him that if necessary we could find a new host for Wanda. He didn't have the same option. He ate reluctantly, glaring at me most of the time, but cleaned his tray. I nodded in approval and left him alone again.

Sunny was setting her empty tray with the others when she motioned for me to go sit with her. I wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about but I followed her over to the far corner of the cave, as far away from Ian as we could get.

We sat on the floor and she started picking at the sole of her shoe.

"What is it?" I asked her, curious as to why she would call me over if she didn't have anything to say.

She looked up at me, biting her lip. "What do you think will happen to Kyle?"

I shook my head. "Honestly I have no idea. If people don't believe that he was brainwashed he'll probably be shot," I said. I tried to spare Sunny's feeling but there was no delicate way to put this. She started shaking and I reached an arm out to comfort her.

"It won't necessarily be that though. He might be kicked out. Or we could just punish him here. There's a lot of different ways this could go." I hoped my words would calm her.

She sniffed at she looked up at me. "But you hope they'll shoot him," she stated. It wasn't a question.

I looked to the floor and nodded once. I was embarrassed that I believed this, so I tried to explain. "I just can't forgive what he did to Ian. He betrayed his brother. There's no excuse for that."

"Do you think if I say something tonight it would help?" she asked.

I sighed. I wasn't the person that she wanted to be talking to about this, but right now she didn't have any other options.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't think it will hurt," I allowed. "But I don't know if people will be swayed by it. He's been in this kind of mess before."

Sunny nodded, knowing Kyle had tried to kill Wanda once before. He'd gotten a reprieve then. I wasn't so sure he would get another one.

"Thank you, Melanie," she whispered.

I nodded and picked myself up off the floor. I left Sunny to her thoughts, thankful she didn't ask me what she should say at the tribunal. I couldn't be a contributor to Kyle's defense.

I sat next to Doc as he paged through another book rapidly. He needed to calm down. I wasn't sure how to help him though. I was trying to think of a way to make him laugh when Jared walked through the entrance.

I was stunned by his appearance at first, but shook it off quickly as I launched myself across the room into his arms. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered into his shoulder.

"Jamie offered to watch Maggie and Sharon for a little while so I could make a final loop around to make sure everyone knows about the tribunal tonight." I nodded.

"So you thought you'd come here first?" I asked with eyebrows raised.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget." He ran his knuckles down the side of my face and I looked up at him. I wouldn't have forgotten, but the way his hand felt on my right now, I was surprised I could remember my own name. I leaned my cheek into his hand.

I sighed, knowing that I couldn't keep him here any longer. I didn't like leaving Jamie with those two for longer than necessary.

I pulled away and gave him a smirk. "Consider us reminded."

He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back to come get you when it's time."

I nodded and he stepped away, heading for the door. He turned back in the doorway and beckoned me to him. Once we were out of the hospital he faced me. "Do you think Ian will go?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head. "Almost definitely not. He won't leave Wanda here by herself. And I don't think he'll be able to watch Kyle's tribunal."

Jared was confused. "Why wouldn't he be able to watch? He was an active participant last time."

"Since we found out Kyle is in love with Sunny."

Jared's jaw dropped. "What?"

I nodded, eyes wide. "Exactly. Ian's confused as hell and I don't blame him."

He raised him eyebrows. "I have to go now. But I'm going to want to hear all about this later."

I smirked and nodded. "Oh, don't worry. I'll give you the play by play."

He gave me a smile and turned to walk away. I grabbed his hand before he got too far. "I don't think so," I said, pulling him to me.

I kissed him fiercely, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pulled me to him, cupping my chin with one hand and taking a handful of hair with his other. He tugged on my bottom lip and I groaned.

When we pulled away for air he took the opportunity to kiss me lightly and get on his way. I knew he had things to do but I could have kissed him all day.

I watched him until he turned the corner before I went back into the hospital.

I sat down next to Ian, putting my hand on Wanda's shoulder. I missed her. I wished that I could talk to her about what was going on. Sort of. Because I knew she was going to tell me that I should be tolerant of Maggie, Sharon, and Kyle, and I didn't want to hear that. I wanted to know what she thought of Kyle's love of Sunny. I'm sure she would have some very interesting things to say about that. I smirked to myself just imagining the confused look on her face when she found out.

"What's funny?" Ian asked, seeing the humor on my face.

"Nothing really. I was just wondering about Wanda's reaction to Kyle and Sunny. I think she's going to be pretty shocked," I laughed.

Ian nodded with a sad smile. It was the first time I'd seen him smile since Wanda had been here. She needed to wake up soon. Ian was completely lost without her.

"Just ask," he prompted.

I looked at him confused. I'd wanted to ask him about tonight but I didn't think I'd been that obvious.

I gave him a gloomy laugh. "Are you going tonight?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I just don't know. I mean obviously I want Maggie and Sharon to burn for what they did. I'd volunteer to do it myself if I thought Wanda would allow it. But I just don't know what to do about Kyle." He paused, dwelling on the pain his brother had caused him.

"What he did to me wasn't intentional. Hell, it wasn't even personal to Wanda. He was just after Jodi. And if I was in the same situation I don't know that I would have done anything different."

I bit my lip and nodded. I couldn't disagree.

"And the fact that he loves Sunny just knocks me for a loop. It's almost like what happened with Wanda and me. It just came out of nowhere and surprised the hell out of them. The only thing I can fault him for is being too stupid to see when love falls on his doorstep."

He stopped and took a deep breath, gauging my reaction. He wanted to make sure that he didn't sound insane. And he didn't. His reasoning wasn't off. I just wished these reasons didn't exist. It would be so much simpler to hate Kyle without all of this floating around. It was easy to hate Kyle when he was the anti-soul asshole. But now that he was in love with one it was hard not to call it progress.

"I've been thinking about what Wanda would want me to do," Ian continued. "She would want me to beg for leniency for Maggie and Sharon. But I can't. I can't stand them. They don't deserve to live. That's a non-issue.

"But she would want me to defend Kyle too. And I don't know what to do with that. He's my brother. I talk a lot of shit about how I'm embarrassed to be related to him but at the end of the day, other than Wanda, he's all I have left.

"If I did defend Kyle it wouldn't just be for Wanda. It would be for me too. And that's why I can't go. I can't let my personal feelings cloud what's best for this community. I won't do it."

I took his hand in mine. "He's not all you have left. You have Jared and Jamie. They're like your brothers. And you have me. I'm your sister. And even if I wasn't, I'd still be your sister-in-law."

He smiled at this. "That's true. I'm sorry if I've been thinking of myself this whole time. Wanda's your sister. You're hurting just as bad. I shouldn't be making you listen to me whine."

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to help. You're my brother, remember?"

He smiled. "Yeah, that's right. I like that." He pondered for another second. "But can you promise not to call Wanda and I your sister and brother at the same time? I don't want people thinking we're from West Virginia or something."

I laughed. "Ok, I promise, no insinuations of incest."

As I laughed, Jared appeared at the door. "It's time," he said.

I stood. "Are you sure?" I asked Ian.

He nodded. "Yeah. Just let me know what happens."

I smiled. "Of course." I turned to Sunny. "It's time to go. Are you coming?"

She nodded shyly then got up from her place on the far side of the room, making her way over to us.

Doc grabbed my arm as we were about to head out. "Will you let them know why I'm not there?" he asked. I knew he had other requests, mostly centering on asking for leniency for Sharon, but he knew this was the one I would be willing to do for him.

I nodded. "Of course. We'll be back as soon as it's over."

Sunny, Jared, and I headed out from the hospital. Jared and I were going to pick up Maggie and Sharon while Sunny was headed for the game room.

We got to the storage cave and Jamie was waiting for us with Maggie and Sharon sitting facing a wall with their back to him. I smiled at this. He could keep his eye on them but didn't have to look at their faces. Very smart.

"Let's go," Jared said and the pair climbed to their feet.

Maggie had her characteristic smile on her face and I just had to ask. "Excited?"

Her smile never faltered as she said, "Bring it on."

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_A/N: Sorry for the West Virginia joke, but I'm from Ohio and we make those jokes all the time. I don't mean to offend. I just try to be funny :p_


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: After putting out 4 chapters in 5 days I had to take a short break and collect my thoughts haha, so that's why it's been a small wait for this chapter. Here's the beginning of the tribunal. I haven't decided how many chapters it's going to be, but I'm going to say a minimum of four. But once the tribunal is over there will probably only be one or two chapters afterwards. So the end is sort of in sight. (Oh, and PS this chapter is putting this story over 40,000 words. Woohoo I'm so excited haha)  
_

_Thank you yet again to my awesome reviewers. You guys rock! paper. creations, pff401, xx. michelle. moran. xx, JmacKarla, mediate89, sarah12345, shimmershadow30, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, staplerrr Madge xD, onyxrush707, morning-hues, EdwardAlways, Someone aka Me, vampire's kisses 4 me, Animelover231, TopKat90, and TK-MR are amazing!  
_

_Disclaimer: As much as I wish I own Ian O'Shea, I don't. I don't own anything else having to do with the Host either._

* * *

We walked to the game room slowly. Maggie and Sharon seemed uninterested in picking up their feet. I was growing impatient and shoved Sharon forward, causing her to stumble slightly. Jamie gave me a reproachful look. I looked back at him sheepishly.

"I couldn't help myself," I said, guiltily. He game me a smirk then leaned in to my ear so Jared couldn't hear.

"I smacked Maggie across the face when she back talked me earlier." I stared at him with wide eyes. "It felt good." I laughed.

I shouldn't have been impressed that my brother was becoming as sadistic as me, but I figured once Maggie and Sharon were gone neither of us would have any reason to be violent. Plus we had to take full advantage of our opportunity to take out our anger with Wanda not around. When she awoke we were going to be in a world of trouble if she saw Maggie and Sharon's bruises.

We reached the game room and saw about half of the group assembled standing in the middle of the room. They were whispering back and forth, no doubt trading rumors of what they had seen and heard today. We walked past them and I could feel eyes boring into the back of my head. They had no idea what they were about to hear and they were terrified that something had gone wrong.

Sunny was standing off by herself near Candy and Lily. She was looking down at the ground, moving the dirt around with her feet. She looked horribly awkward, wanting to join in a group but not being comfortable with anyone there at the moment.

She walked over in our direction but kept a safe distance from Maggie and Sharon. Jamie dropped back and stood next to her, giving her a sympathetic look. I smiled. He seemed to know just what everyone needed to feel better.

We sat Sharon and Maggie in the same chairs that they had forced Wanda and Sunny into earlier. I took a small amount of satisfaction in that. They looked supremely uncomfortable and I relished it. If only I could threaten them with having their neck sliced open and ripping them out of their bodies. For some reason they were convinced that instead of being punished they were going to be given a medal.

I didn't think they would have as many allies as they seemed to think. I knew that not everyone would be as horrified as I had been but I didn't think that they would take this lightly. At least I hoped not.

There were still some who weren't comfortable with souls among us but Wanda and Sunny had proved their worth time and time again. There was no one who could say that they posed more of a threat than they did a help.

As the rest of the group was filtering in Heidi walked up next to me. "Where's Wanda?" she asked curiously.

I shook my head with a smile. "That's kind of why we're here. We'll tell everyone together."

"Oh," she replied, somewhat flustered. "Is it something bad?" she whispered.

"In my opinion, yes. But you'll have to decide for yourself," I replied, giving my best diplomatic answer.

Jared was doing a silent head count, taken attendance in his head. "Who's missing?" he asked out loud when just about everyone had arrived.

We all looked around counting our neighbors. "Looks like Doc, Ian, Kyle, and Wanda," Geoffrey answered.

I narrowed my eyes. Ian had said Kyle would be here. In fact, the only reason I hadn't gone after Kyle was because Ian had guaranteed it. I was planning on giving Ian a dirty look or two later when Kyle stepped through the entrance.

"Don't worry, I'm here," he grumbled. As he walked inside I took the chance to survey him. His expression was broken, his cheeks were tear stained, and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. As he passed Sunny he looked pointedly at the floor, determined not to make eye contact. I couldn't tell if this was remorse he felt for hurting Sunny, or the pain he felt for loving her in the first place.

He sat on the ground next to Maggie and Sharon and folded his arms across his chest. "Let's get this over with." I was surprised that he sat with them. If he felt he belonged in the same category as them then he must feel terrible about his actions. There was no other explanation. Ian was right. He wanted to be punished.

Jared nodded to him and turned to face the group. "Ok, so you all know that this morning Maggie and Sharon had a meeting with Wanda and Sunny. We wanted to let you know what happened."

He took a deep breath and before he continued Heath cut him off. "Shouldn't we wait for Wanda then? Let her tell us in her own words?"

Jared shook his head. "No, that's why we're here. To tell you why Wanda can't be."

"What?" a few concerned voices asked.

"There's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it. Maggie and Sharon went into the meeting this morning with the intention of extracting Wanda and Sunny and sending them off." He paused as he heard a few scattered gasps. "And they succeeded with Wanda."

Kyle's head hung low as Jared spoke. He was hurt by this words so much more than the other two. Maggie and Sharon were sitting in their chairs with smug looks on their faces. Though they were looking decidedly less smug when people started shouting out their questions.

"Is she alright?" Trudy asked.

"Why would they do that?" asked Paige.

"How did they get away with it?" Andy's voice cut in.

That was the question I least wanted to answer. If I hadn't been in such a hurry to have Jared with me I probably could have prevented this from happening. I knew that I shouldn't be blaming myself but I couldn't help it.

I spoke up. "Wanda is fine right now. She's in a tank but we have to wait to reinsert her. Her brainstem is swollen but Doc said she should be back in a day or two," I replied to Trudy, looking her in the eyes. She nodded and I turned to Andy next.

"I went with them this morning. Maggie asked me to get Jared, Ian, and Kyle and she extracted Wanda while I was gone. They were about to get Sunny when Jared and I got back." The group nodded almost in unison, understanding the series of events.

"As to Paige's question of why they would do this, you'll have to ask them," I said, nodding in the direction of the lawn chairs.

They all looked at them expectantly. Maggie cleared her throat and I prepared to hear the longest line of bullshit in the history of bullshit.

"They were a threat," she said simply and I rolled my eyes. I had promised myself that during their initial explanation I wouldn't interject my opinion. I wanted this to be as fair as possible so no one could claim that we'd set them up. But if her first statement was that obnoxious I could only imagine how much worse it would get.

Most of the group sat with their mouths hanging open. "How?" Jared prompted.

"They could have exposed us all!" she yelled in an attempt to convince anyone who may have been wavering. "You all trust them far more than you should. You have to remember that it is their fault that we are stuck here in the first place! Every time we allow them out of this cave we put ourselves at risk. They are just waiting for the opportunity to slip away and tell their parasite friends about us. How can the rest of you be so blind?" she accused. When she saw the angry faces looking back at her she decided that insults were not the way to gain friends.

"I did what I did for the good of the group. If I had succeeded it would have made things much safer. Don't forget what the original parasite brought on us," she reminded, looking at Lily.

I fought back the urge to kill her. How dare she use Wes's death to further her own agenda? That was the lowest of the low. I think most of the group agreed with me when they gasped and shot her reproaching looks. Even Sharon looked shocked.

Trudy walked over to Lily and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her but Lily shrugged her off.

"What gives you the right?" Lily asked Maggie, her throat thick with tears.

"What?" Maggie asked.

"What gives you the right to decide anything around here? You have no authority over anyone."

Maggie looked livid. "The hell I don't! This was my brother's place and now that he's gone it passes over to me. It's called succession," Maggie raged. I couldn't believe she was doing this. Even if there was someone who didn't feel sympathy for Wanda and Sunny, everyone had compassion for Lily. Maggie was really hitting below the belt now.

A dozen angry pairs of eyes settled on Maggie as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She'd taken it too far. She started sputtering when Brandt cut in.

"So, what you're saying, is that you feel like you have the right to be in charge because of the line of succession?" he tried to clarify.

Maggie barely dignified it with a response. "Obviously."

"You know that in true succession, you're not next in line, right?" he challenged.

"What?" she asked incredulously. "Of course I am. Jeb was my brother. As his only sibling, I am next in line."

Brandt shook his head. "Actually, in true succession, as you seem too committed to following, the power passes to the next oldest brother." Maggie opened her mouth to argue, no doubt to remind me that my father was no longer around. Thankfully Brandt continued. "And in the event that the brother is not available, it passes to his son."

I followed Brandt's train of thought and was immediately horrified. Maggie's jaw dropped at the same time mine did. Was he suggesting that Jamie was in charge?

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_A/N: I discovered that one of my reviewers only lives about 30 minutes away from me, which got me wondering where everyone else is from. When you review, if you wanted to say what state or country you are from that would be really cool! I'm so curious lol._

_So review! (only seven for 200*cough*)  
_


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: Another record breaking chapter. This is the longest by far. (almost 3000 words)  
_

_So I got a ton of reviews last chapter and I want to thank everyone that reads and reviews. It always makes me feel special that you are willing to take time out of your day to tell me what you think of my writing. Thanks to morning-hues, mediate89, sarah12345, pff401, animelover231, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, paper. creations, Forever Your Angel, staplerrr Madge xD, Madusa and the 'Wizard', KuraWulf, vampire's kisses 4 me, onyxrush707, shimmershadow30, JmacKarla, xx. michelle. moran. xx, TK-MR, Escape my reality, and mckellsaxey for reviewing!_

_Thanks for letting me know where you're from. It was really interesting! A few of you asked where I'm from. I am originally the east side of Cleveland in Ohio (I go to school on the other side of the state but I think of Cleveland as my home), right on Lake Erie so I live in the area affectionately called 'The Snow Belt' haha. Thanks to everyone who replied!  
_

_Disclaimer: In case you weren't sure after hearing it 21 times before, I do not own this._

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My mouth was hanging open as I stared dumbly at Brandt. He thought Jamie should be in charge? Was he out of his mind? Jamie was just a kid. I just started shaking my head, sure I'd heard him wrong.

"Sorry, you're going to have to explain that. I thought you were telling me that Jamie should be in charge."

Brandt was nodding. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Maggie seems to think that she has authority, but if we go by her standards then it should be Jamie, not her."

I glanced over at Jamie. He looked nervous with all eyes on him. I immediately regretted previously agreeing to treat him more like an adult. This was a situation that was screaming for me to take the reins. I knew that he was getting older and could be trusted more and more, but to be in charge of everyone? To be the final say in tribunals? To be in charge of the firearms? I'm sorry, but I did not want that for my 15 year old brother. Jamie wasn't going to like it, but there was no way I was going to allow this to go any further. I couldn't let this seed take hold in his head.

To my surprise, Jared spoke up first. "No."

"What?" Jamie asked with surprise. He looked to me, and I knew he had been expecting me to be the first to object.

"There's no way you can be in charge. You're fifteen years old," Jared informed him.

Jamie looked livid. "I thought of all people, you'd be on my side," he said with narrow eyes.

"I am on your side. You don't want this."

"You don't know what I want," Jamie said icily.

The group stayed silent as they watched the exchange. Brandt looked slightly guilty for bringing it up. He hadn't meant to cause a fight between Jared and Jamie, and that was exactly where this was heading.

I needed to intervene before someone said something they regretted. I stepped in between the two of them and faced Jamie. He was seething, and I needed to calm him down.

"Jamie, don't get all worked up. No one expects you to take over. Brandt was just pointing out the flaw in Maggie's logic. Right Brandt?" I asked, turning to face him.

Brandt looked confused before understanding dawned over his face. "Yeah, kid. I only meant that Maggie was wrong in thinking that she was in charge. I didn't mean that you should have to do it."

"Well you said it. And I think it should at least be discussed."

"This is not something we should be doing now," I said, but Aaron stepped forward.

"Actually, before we get any further with those two," he said angling his head toward Maggie and Sharon, "I think we should establish who is in charge. Might prevent some future issues."

I nodded. Couldn't argue with that. Jamie looked angry that no one was backing him up, and I really did feel bad for him. It wasn't that we didn't have any faith in him, it was just that he was so young. I wished I could explain it to him, but I knew right now he was too angry to understand.

Aaron looked around and everyone else seemed to concur. "Any suggestions how to go about it?"

"How about we have nominations then discuss it after?" Geoffrey offered.

Another round of nods went around then we sat in silence for a minute or two waiting for someone to say a name.

"No one has any suggestions?" Maggie laughed. "Then I guess no one would have had any objections to me stepping up."

Every single person in the room gave her a dirty look. Yesterday there were probably a few who would have backed her. Today, after her actions toward Wanda and Sunny and her words to Lily, there was not a single person who would claim her.

"Shut up," I warned her. "You just spend your time praying whoever we pick is forgiving. That's you only hope now."

A look of shock crossed her face, as if she was just now realizing that whoever we were picking would play a large role in deciding her fate. She quickly scanned the group and didn't find one pair of sympathetic eyes. I smirked in triumph as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was the first hint she had given of her uneasiness in the situation. I was glad it wouldn't be the last.

Heidi cleared her throat. "What about Jared?" she suggested. I was glad that someone else suggested him. It wouldn't have meant as much if it came from me.

Jared nodded. "Okay, who else?"

"Kyle?" Lucinda offered.

Kyle was shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. I can't do that. I don't deserve it."

"Why not?" Lucinda asked, confused.

Kyle looked apprehensively at Jared and me before he answered. He knew that we didn't want to be discussing the events of this morning until we had established who was in charge. But everyone needed to understand why he couldn't be. And that whoever was in charge would be responsible for Kyle's fate as well.

"I helped Maggie and Sharon this morning," he admitted. I heard a few gasps and I was shocked as well, though for a different reason. He was making it sound like he was the one holding the scalpel. As much as I hated Kyle and what he had done I would not allow him to throw himself under the bus like this.

"Explain it," I sighed.

"What's there to explain? I was a party to this! I deserve to be punished just as much, if not more, than those two!" he yelled. "I love her and I gave the okay to have her extracted. What other explanation is there? What the hell is wrong with me? I don't deserve to live!"

More than a few jaws dropped when Kyle admitted that he loved Sunny. Of course we all suspected, but everyone thought that he was far from admitting it. And now it was clear why he never admitted it; he hadn't known.

"Kyle," Jared sighed. "Just tell them why you went along with it."

Kyle looked at the floor and didn't answer at first. When he finally started talking it was barely louder than a whisper. He was embarrassed he had been fooled. As he should have been.

"They told me that Jodi was awake but Sunny wouldn't tell me. And I wanted to believe it so much that I saw things that weren't there. I found out I was in love with her when I tried to have her killed. How's that for irony? If I had realized how much I loved her, I would never have doubted her for a second." His last sentence sounded like an apology. He looked at Sunny and his eyes were brimming over with tears.

Sunny walked over and sat next to him, taking his hand in hers and resting her head on his shoulder. He whispered something in her ear as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to him.

I almost had to hold back a gag when I realized that I felt sympathy for him. I scanned the group and others looked sympathetic as well. I was disgusted, but I crushed it down quickly. He didn't deserve my sympathy.

"Okay, who else?" Jared asked, changing the subject.

"How about Doc?" Andy suggested.

We all nodded, though I doubted Doc would get the job. And even if he did he wouldn't take it.

"Why isn't Doc here?" Lacey asked rudely.

I raised my eyebrows at her then answered abruptly. "He wanted to stay in the hospital with Wanda in case anything changed." It may not have been the whole truth but I didn't want to talk about Doc's feelings for Sharon in front of the group. That was between the two of them.

"He didn't want to see what happened to Sharon?" Lacey pushed. As much as I disliked her she was perceptive.

I pursed my lips as I answered. "No, he thought it would be too hard."

Sharon closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip like she was in pain. I was glad she realized just how much she was hurting him.

And it was good to see her in pain that I hadn't inflicted. It appeared that psychological warfare would work with her as well. I fought back a smirk. I couldn't use Doc's sorrow against her. It just felt wrong.

Lacey seemed to accept my explanation and quieted.

"Anyone else?" Jared asked.

"I think Trudy would be good," Lily murmured.

I nodded. While I didn't think Trudy would be capable of ordering people around, she would be helpful planning raids and other things that required strategy. She was very smart. She just didn't have that killer instinct that was necessary when leading large groups. And that made me sad because I would have liked a woman to lead us. It may have been a little reverse-sexism, but why not? Even the souls had yet to elect a female president. We could be ahead of the times here.

"I want to be considered," Jamie said quietly.

I looked at him and shook my head. "No. Jamie, I'm sorry that Brandt put that idea in your head but there's no way."

"I just want to be considered. That's all," he said firmly. "Let the others turn me down. But I won't have you making my decisions for me anymore."

I was shocked and hurt. I only ever had his best interests at heart. I knew that he deserved more respect that I gave him, and I was working on that, but this was above and beyond what he could expect of me. I couldn't believe he actually thought I would even allow this to be considered. Though, once the others turned him down, I wouldn't be the bad guy. Maybe this could work in my favor.

"Fine," I said angrily, crossing my arms across my chest and looking anywhere but at him. If I did, no doubt I would be struck by how old he looked. If I just imagined his expression I could see him in my mind as a nine year old, barely old enough to be left alone by himself. If I imagined him like that it was much easier to treat him as the child I wished he still was. I knew it wasn't fair, but if the world was fair he would be a sophomore in high school now, instead of attempting to become the leader of a supposed terrorist cell of rebel humans.

"Okay," Jared said. "Is there anyone else? You can self-nominate if you want."

No one spoke up so I stepped forward, trying to be the debate leader. I knew that I would probably try to pull things in Jared's favor, but that was better than the skew Jared would get leading it himself.

"So we have Jared, Doc, Trudy, and Jamie. Is that everyone?" The group nodded and I continued. "Okay, how about we have each person who is nominated come up to the front and state their case? Andy, since you suggested Doc, would you come up and speak for him?" I requested.

Andy nodded and stood, walking to the front of the group. He spoke of Doc's compassion for all of us and his commitment to making sure we are all healthy not only physically and emotionally. Andy's speech was eloquent and complimentary and I was sad that Doc was not there to hear it. I noticed he didn't mention anything about Doc's connection with Sharon and I was grateful for that. It wasn't something we had to worry about. Even if Doc was the leader he would not participate in anything that pertained to Sharon's punishment.

Next, Trudy stood beginning her campaign. Her speech consisted mostly of saying she would keep most things the way that they were ("If it's not broken, why fix it?"), and that she thought we would benefit from having a woman's point of view. I smirked, knowing that she may have swayed a couple of the women with her feminism. If Jared hadn't been an option I would have seriously thought of giving Trudy my vote.

When Trudy sat Jamie moved in front of everyone, no doubt hoping to try to change some minds before Jared started talking.

He took a deep breath and started and I was stunned by what he said. "I know most of you think that I'm not old enough to be in charge. And I know that I'm not. I can't do this alone. But I don't think that we should have one person who is in charge of everything. We don't need a veto power. We need a group of people making decisions with everyone's best interests in mind. I would like to be one of four leaders. Doc, Trudy, Jared, and me. I think that the four of us would each bring something different to the table." He turned to sit down but thought better of it and gave one last thought. "And if you do decide to go with this plan, Maggie would have no claim over anything at all, since I would technically be in charge." He glanced at me and gave me a scathing look.

I was shocked. This was a great idea. I didn't know why I had never thought of it before. We didn't need a dictator. Maggie had demonstrated to us why that was a bad idea. We needed an elected legislature. (That was just about the only thing I remembered from 7th grade government.)

But while this was a good idea, I didn't want Jamie to be in charge. But if Jared was there too he could protect him.

The group was nodding their approval. "Before we move any further, let's take a vote on this idea. All those in favor of having a group of leaders instead of just one?" I raised my right hand as did everyone else except for Paige, Candy, and Geoffrey. They were the ones who no doubt would want more time to consider it. I didn't see any reason why anyone would be opposed. It was an overwhelming majority.

"Alright, it looks like Doc, Trudy, Jamie, and Jared are in charge. Each will have equal authority and at a later time we will decide what their specific duties will be," I stated, hoping the others would agree.

They nodded and Jared, Jamie, and Trudy all stood in the middle of the room. I took a step off to the side, my part in this finished.

"Okay," Trudy said solemnly. "Let's get on with the tribunal then."

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_A/N: When Kyle was whispering to Sunny her was apologizing and telling her he loved her, in case anyone was curious._

_Review please!_


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: Thanks for all of the awesome reviews last chapter. They make me super happy. Thank you to mediate89, xx. michelle. moran. xx, sarah12345, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, pff401, shimmershadow30, TopKat90, vampire's kisses 4 me, morning-hues, onyxrush707, paper. creations, KuraWulf, and JmacKarla for reviewing!_

_Disclaimer: Ownership of the Host. Many want it. Few have it. Okay, just one has it, and it's not me.

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_

Chapter 22 Recap:

_Jared, Jamie, and Trudy all stood in the middle of the room. I took a step off to the side, my part in this finished._

"_Okay," Trudy said solemnly. "Let's get on with the tribunal then."_

Chapter 23:

I took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult. I knew that I was going to lead the movement to have Maggie and Sharon killed. I had to make sure that I was prepared to explain my point of view calmly and rationally to the group. I didn't know what to say.

"Are you sure Doc didn't want to be here?" Andy asked Jared.

Jared shook his head. "He doesn't want any part in this. He'll accept whatever decision we come to."

"Okay," Jared said, addressing the group. "First of all, I think we should allow Maggie, Sharon, and Kyle to say a few words to explain themselves. After we've heard what they have to say we'll discuss punishments."

"Kyle?" Paige questioned. "You're not throwing him in the same group as the two of them are you? He may have participated but he didn't do it maliciously. He doesn't deserve the same as the other two."

"Don't worry. Each person's sentence will be individual," Jared assured.

I was glad that everyone realized that Kyle was not as guilty as Maggie and Sharon. Obviously he deserved a severe punishment but it should not have automatically been the same as the two who did it just to spite the rest of us. I got angry again just thinking about what they had done and the fact that Maggie was starting to talk was getting on my nerves even more.

Maggie gave the same tired speech she'd given before. 'Every minute they spend with us is a threat.' No one seemed to be buying it, and I was glad. She did not have one single ally. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Maggie showed no remorse as she continued on her tirade of how the souls ruined her life and continue to ruin it just by being allowed in the caves. She was referring to Wanda and Sunny as it. I almost couldn't take it anymore and was about to call her on it when I saw the look on Sharon's face. It was contorted in absolute terror. Sharon at least had the brains to know that she should at least appear remorseful to avoid losing her life. Maggie was so far gone that she didn't care. She thought that removing Wanda and Sunny and allowing their bodies to die was a noble cause worth dying for.

As I stared at Sharon I couldn't quite shake the feeling that maybe there was hope for her yet. But I wasn't going to take that chance. If she were allowed to stay and caused more trouble I would never forgive myself. She had to be punished just as severely as her mother, not only for her but also as an example to everyone else. No one treats Wanda and Sunny like that and gets away with it.

When Maggie ended her rant, detailing her wishes to be added to the council of leaders everyone's mouth just hung open. Was she serious? She really thought that in addition to being let off scott-free she was going to be allowed to have a hand in running the place? She really should have taken the time to come up with an adequate insanity plea. Honestly, she was completely delusional.

Jamie decided to speak up. "I think it's safe to say that no matter what the outcome of this meeting, you won't be on the council."

I smiled. That was very diplomatic of him. He was so smart. He would have made an excellent congressman or senator. I guess this was as close as he would get.

"Sharon, do you have anything else to add?" Jamie prompted.

She shook her head violently as if talking herself out of saying anything. She was no doubt under strict instructions not to open her mouth. They were trying to present a united front. Unfortunately for Maggie, everyone could see the fear in Sharon's eyes, even if she couldn't say it out loud. She was terrified of what was going to happen to her. Now she knew what Wanda and Sunny felt like when she attacked them.

"Okay, Kyle. What do you have to say for yourself?" Jared asked, directing his attention to Kyle who was still sitting on the floor.

"Nothing," Kyle replied, staring that his feet. "I deserve whatever punishment you deserve to give me. I deserve worse than those two because I helped attack someone I love. At least they went after people they hated. I love her and she almost died because of me. There is no punishment harsh enough for that."

Though Kyle had intended his speech to convince everyone that he was a monster that couldn't be trusted, it ended up having the opposite effect. His remorse showed through more blatantly than before. He was going to get a reprieve. I could feel it. I didn't like it, but in all honesty I couldn't be completely opposed to it. It was certain he would never do this again.

Sunny snuggled in closer under Kyle's arm and he looked at her with a pained expression. He didn't understand how she had forgiven him so quickly. I could only attribute it to the love they shared. Somehow she decided that his actions were completely irrelevant to their relationship now. I wished I knew how she did it. Because I would give anything to not be able to hold a grudge over even small things. I guess being a soul did have its perks sometimes. Though loving someone that tried to kill you this morning might not always be considered a perk.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Trudy asked the group.

The group began to whisper among themselves. They knew it was time to come to a decision. And no one wanted to be the first to speak up. I knew it had to be me. I had to get the ball rolling.

"I think we should discuss what Jeb would have wanted," I offered.

"Jeb?" Maggie asked incredulously. "He would have wanted me in charge. And allowed me to make my own decisions."

"I wasn't speaking to you. And I was talking about what the punishment would have been if you pulled this stunt while Jeb was still alive." Maggie opened her mouth to refute me but I didn't allow her an opening. "Don't pretend like this thought didn't enter your mind before he died. You've been planning this for awhile now. You planted that seed of doubt in Kyle's mind a long time ago."

I turned away from Maggie and face the rest of the group. "Jeb made it clear what the penalty was for attempting to hurt Wanda. And later Sunny. And now that rule should be enforced. I don't want people like this roaming the caves. They are a cancer to the group. They spread words of hate and intolerance of people who have been nothing but kind and gracious to us. They deserve the harshest penalty available to us. I would ask that you consider having them shot," I requested of the group. There were a couple of nods, but not as many as I would have expected. Of course, not everyone was as willing to condone taking a human life. As far as I was concerned Maggie and Sharon were more than one step below human.

Geoffrey stood when I was finished and addressed the group to counter my previous appeal. "While I abhor their actions I do not believe that we should take any action that would bring about the end of their lives. It would make us no better than them. The one thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to show compassion and to not take a human life just because they did something we consider wrong. There are other punishments that would be just as effective in ensuring that they will never do this again that don't require murder."

It was hard to argue that point. Normally I would have been on that side of the debate. If this incident hadn't involved Wanda I may have agreed with him. But as it was, it did include her and I had to make sure that nothing would ever come between my sister and me again. And the only way to truly ensure it was to eradicate the threat.

"Okay, we've had both points of view on Maggie and Sharon. How about for Kyle?" Trudy asked.

Sunny pulled away from Kyle and got to her feet immediately. She looked down timidly and Kyle and he nodded at her reassuringly. She turned her face up to us and started speaking. "I know I've been scared around you, and that I haven't gotten as close to most of you as I could've. But now that I've seen the way that you are coming to Wanda's and my aid in this situation I can say that I am truly sorry for being apprehensive around any of you.

"With that being said, while I am not close to any of you, I am extremely close to Kyle. I loved him long before he loved me and I can say without a doubt in my mind that he will behave from here on out. You can punish him here however you please, but don't send him away, and please don't kill him. We've only just found each other." She started to sit but thought better of it, adding one last thought. "And if you're worried about him doing this again, just remember that now that he knows he loves me, I can use it in my favor," she said with a small smile.

It was the first time I had ever heard Sunny make a joke. At that moment I couldn't find the will anywhere in me to punish Kyle worse than making him clean the latrine for two months straight. He'd punished himself enough already. And from the sound of it, Sunny was going to punish him too.

Heidi was shaking her head. "I'm sorry Sunny, I really am. But Kyle has done this before and he got away with it last time. I think that we need to put our foot down before things get out of control. Unfortunately Kyle has to be the example. I think he should have to leave. He can go with Nate or another group, but he can't stay here. It's just not good for the health of the group."

I saw a few heads nodding and I could see the wheels turning in a few others. After the previous stunt Kyle had pulled with Wanda when she was in my body, he didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, and it didn't look like he was going to get it.

I sighed internally, knowing that if Kyle left Sunny would too. I was just starting to get close to her.

"You guys don't have to make a decision," Kyle said suddenly, climbing to his feet. "I'll leave. Sunny and I will go together. I've been trying to think of a way to make it up to her and the only thing that I could give her that would even come close to making up for this would be a normal life. When we leave here, I'll go straight to an insertion facility. I'll have a soul inserted in me and Sunny and the new soul can go and live a happy life together."

I was horrified. He was willing to give up not only his life but his body? He was taking this too far. I could not allow this to happen.

"Absolutely not!" Sunny cried jumping up. "Kyle, I wish we could go live in a suburb somewhere in our own house. But I want to do that with _you_, not with the random soul they insert into you. And if I can't have that then I want to stay here with you. Or wherever else we have to go. I just want to be together!"

Kyle closed his eyes as he rested a hand on Sunny's cheek. Their foreheads came together and he took a deep breath before turning to the rest of us. "We'll leave tonight. We'll go to Nate's for awhile then make a decision from there."

Sunny seemed satisfied at this and kissed him so passionately I had to look away, feeling like I was invading their intimate moment.

Kyle and Sunny sat back down and he pulled her onto his lap. I was glad that they were going to stay together. Their love was so new it would be a crime to split them apart now. It wouldn't be fair to Sunny. Though Kyle could live with a little unfairness in exchange for keeping his life.

"Now that Kyle's punishment has been decided, how about Maggie and Sharon?" Jared asked.

No one volunteered any input and Jared sighed. "Okay, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way. We'll have to vote." He paused and breathed deeply. This was going to be intense. "Raise your hand if you believe that Maggie and Sharon's crimes warrant execution."

Slowly I raised my hand. It was followed by Lily's and Brandt's almost immediately. As several people looked around and saw the other's votes they raised their hands too. It looked to be a slight majority but I couldn't be sure. Jared was counting slowly, making sure he got it right. This was nothing to fool around with.

"It looks like right now there are 14 for. That's a majority. I guess our decision is made," he said solemnly. "I'll take care of it as soon as possible."

"Wait!" a voice said, coming from the corridor. I saw Trudy glance toward the doorway and gasp. I turned to see what had surprised her and almost fainted. In the doorway stood a very angry-looking Wanda with Ian right behind her. "I didn't get to vote."

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_A/N: Yay, Wanda's back! And I'm really enjoying the Kyle/Sunny fluffiness. They're so cute!  
_

_Small, completely random plug for the Fray's new CD. It is amazing. Better than the first one. If you have the opportunity, buy it immediately. You won't regret it._

_There's nothing that makes me happier than coming back from class to find reviews waiting for me. You want me to be happy right?_


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Almost 250 reviews. I'm so excited. You guys have been amazing with your positive (and long) reviews. They rock, as do you JmacKarla, xx. michelle. moran. xx, TK-MR, onyxrush707, Escape my reality, vampire's kisses 4 me, EdwardAlways, mediate89, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, sarah12345, Animelover231, staplerrr Magde xD, pff401, morning-hues, shimmershadow30, and Sirius Leigh!  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Host. I do however own a very nice DVD player that I would gladly trade for the rights to the Host. SM, if you're interested, let me know!  
_

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Wanda stood in the doorway looking angry. I had never seen her so livid before. "You weren't going to wait for me?" she fumed. "You didn't think I'd have some input on the situation?" She looked pointedly at me but I didn't care. She was back.

I bounded up from the floor and ran to her, wrapping my arms around her. I hugged her at tightly as I could. "You don't know how much I missed you," I whispered, blinking back tears. I hadn't realized I'd missed her this much. She'd only been gone for about 12 hours and I was hugging her like I hadn't seen her in years. A few tears spilled over as I realized that it would take almost as long as she had been gone to explain the events that had taken place in her absence.

She ran her hands over my back to try to calm me. I felt another pair of arms wrap around the pair of us as Jamie joined our hug. "Thank god you're back, Wanda," he told her. "I was worried we were going to have to find you a new host. I like this one," he said, playing with a strand of her hair. Wanda giggled but her expression changed back to serious quickly.

"I'm glad both of you missed me but that doesn't excuse you trying to go behind my back to get this taken care of before I could give my opinion." I glared at her. How could she think that? This had nothing to do with avoiding her opinion. We just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. There was no way I was going to let Maggie and Sharon wander around the caves like their shit doesn't stink just so Wanda could give an opinion that wouldn't sway anyone anyway. I didn't tell her that though. She might have found it insulting.

"I'm sorry, Wanda. I just wanted to get it over with. I promise we weren't dodging you." She gave me a small nod and I knew I was forgiven. We weren't expecting her back so soon anyway. "How are you back already? Doc said tomorrow at the earliest?" I directed my attention to Ian knowing that he would know more about this situation than Wanda.

"Doc checked her right after you left and she was fine. Absolutely fine. No sign of the swelling at all. He said it was like nothing had happened. So he reinserted her and she woke up faster than he's ever seen anyone come to after an insertion. And now we're here," Ian explained. "It was almost like there was some supernatural force acting so that Wanda could be here. I tried to talk her out of it but she was adamant that she needed to be here."

I sighed. She was going to try to get Maggie and Sharon off the hook. Her altruism would shine through and she would probably campaign to give them a medal for their efforts. I couldn't allow that to happen. No matter how angry it made Wanda I knew that for every reason she gave to protect Maggie and Sharon, I had to give two to condemn them. Wanda wouldn't be very happy for me but she had to understand that it was for the best. It was the only way to ensure her safety for the future. And even if she didn't care for her safety, I did.

I hoped Ian would back me up, but he had this horrible habit of giving in to Wanda's point of view almost immediately. I knew he would be of no real help, except maybe to let her know when she was being ridiculous. Though I'm sure as soon as she started speaking she would know. Well, maybe not.

When would she realize that the souls' way of doing things was not always the best for humans? We wanted to punish people using the good old judiciary system that had been in place for hundreds of years. I didn't care that it wasn't always fair. What mattered was that we did it our way.

"Guess what, Wanda," Jamie interjected.

"What?"

"I'm in charge."

"What?!" Wanda asked incredulously. She turned to me. "How could you let this happen?"

I shook my head. "Jamie, please tell her the rest before you send her into shock."

Jamie gave me a sheepish smile, realizing he'd left out the most important detail. "Oh, yeah. It's me, Jared, Trudy, and Doc. All four of us. It's like a council."

Wanda smiled at him. "That's a very good idea. Whose idea was that?"

Jamie smiled widely as he puffed out his chest. "Me."

Wanda raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, Jamie. I'm impressed." She pulled him into another hug and he squeezed her tightly.

"Whoa, kid," Ian chastised with a laugh. "She just got reinserted. You don't want to squish her. Finding a new host would be highly inconvenient."

I smiled at Ian, knowing he had realized just how much he liked this host. I'd have to make sure to let Wanda know. It would make her happy. Jamie chuckled and let Wanda go.

"Okay, let's get this over with," she declared. She took Ian's hand and stepped past Jamie and me to walk over to the group.

Ian let go of Wanda's hand when they made it to the center of the room and took his seat just off to the side, near where I was sitting. Jared stepped to the side allowing Wanda to face the group. She cleared her throat before she began.

"I know you have all heard what went on here this morning. I don't pretend to understand Maggie and Sharon's motivations for what they did. Their actions make no sense to me at all. I knew that they hated me and that they had no respect for souls who leeched off of the bodies just like the ones they themselves are in. I hate myself for that fact everyday.

"They treated me harshly and were without understanding of just how difficult it was for me to be here. I used to hope that they would one day come to accept me as a part of this group but after this mornings actions it is obvious that this will never be the case."

What was Wanda saying? Was she saying that she couldn't co-exist with Maggie and Sharon? That it was okay for them to be shot? I didn't think Wanda could ever feel that way. She must have had a change of heart after her near-death experience. Though I liked that I was getting my way, I didn't like this personality change. If we couldn't count on Wanda to be the voice of compassion, who could we count on?

My world turned upside down when she finished her thought, so far from the impression I had gotten.

"I cannot condone the taking of a life, no matter what that person has done to me. That's why, since Maggie and Sharon are unwilling to share their space with a soul, Ian and I will be leaving with Kyle and Sunny."

The entire cave was silent. No one said a word. How had I not seen this coming? Wanda had been saying goodbye to me since she walked in the door. I was so happy to have her back that I wasn't worried I would lose her again. Of course this would be her plan. She wanted to do what was best for everyone, and she thought that keeping the humans together was best. Well, I had news for her. Maggie and Sharon were not human. At least not in my book.

"NO!" I shouted. "No, you are not leaving. The decision has been made. You're staying here. Maggie and Sharon are going to be shot and there will be nothing left for you to be afraid of. The rest of us love you. It's only those two that are a threat to you. Once they are gone you'll be surrounded by people who love you. You can't leave. I won't allow it." I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes, daring her to contradict me.

"You won't allow it?" she questioned. "I don't think you have any say in it."

"I may not. But the council does. No one is allowed to leave without their permission."

"You'd keep me here as a prisoner?"

"If that's what it takes. I won't lose you."

"Okay, then I'll move back into the storage cave. You can bring me my meals and shove them through the little hole. And when I have to go the bathroom, you can walk me. It'll be like having a dog. I'll be your pet soul."

I stared at her open mouthed. "Is that what you really think I want? I just want you to stay. You're my sister. I can't imagine being without you."

"If you love me as much as you say you do then you have to let me do what I think is right. I can't stay here with them and I can't stay here if they are shot. That leaves me with only one choice. I cannot stay here."

I had never seen her so angry before. She was shaking and her face was beet red. I was absolutely speechless as her words sunk in. We couldn't force her to stay against her will. She was right; that would be equivalent to keeping her as a pet.

But I couldn't just let her leave. She was family. And family doesn't separate. I couldn't imagine not knowing how she was, worrying that something had happened to her.

What was she doing to do at Nate's anyway? They would undoubtedly send her out on raids. She didn't want to raid anymore. If she stayed her she wouldn't have to. I was about to start punching holes in her theory when Jamie spoke up.

"You may think it's the right thing to do, but the rest of us don't. I think we should put it to a vote and show you just how much we want you to stay here."

When had Jamie gotten so wise? Was it just in the last hour that he had been in charge or was there a side to him that I had never noticed before? I tended to think it was the latter, which made me very sad. I'd never seen this side to him because I had never looked for it before. He was always that little 9 year old in my brain, barely able to pronounce the word aluminum. Now he was coming up with all kinds of insightful and valuable suggestions. I beamed at him.

Jamie turned the group. "If you would rather have Wanda and Ian here instead of Maggie and Sharon, please raise your hand."

Every hand shot up almost immediately. There was no hesitation, no consideration. Everyone knew who was more valuable to the community as not only an asset, but as a person. I smiled triumphantly at Wanda who looked taken aback at the support.

"Thank you all for your support, but it wouldn't be right of me to stay," she said, tears streaming down her face.

She wasn't relenting. Someone had to come up with a compromise to get her to stay before she was out the door. And if she did leave Maggie and Sharon had better pray that Jared took care of them quickly. Otherwise I was going to take out my frustrations at losing my sister on them.

"You should stay," I heard a voice say quietly. I didn't realize who said it at first and I scanned the room. I found that all eyes were on Sharon. Did she just suggest that Wanda belonged here?

* * *

_A/N: Another cliff hanger. The tribunal is going to go on for another chapter (obviously). I know I said only 4 for the tribunal, but this chapter was getting long so I decided to split it here._

_Jamie's pronunciation of aluminum when he was a kid? Alunamum. In case you were curious._

_I'll be away for the weekend and I have 2 exams next week so I'm not sure when I'll have the next one up. But, knowing me, it won't be too long since writing this is my favorite procrastination device._

_If you review I'll be very happy. You can consider it your good deed for the day._


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: I want to apologize for the abnormally long time it took for me to get this done. Long story short, I busted my old computer and had to get a new one. It took longer than expected to get the new one up and running so I was basically without a computer for 4 days. It was horrible. While my computer was out I posted the prologue of a new story (from the library computer lab haha). It's called 'Unexpected Blessing' and the link is on my page if you would like to read it. Okay, this is a ridiculously long author's note. Here's the chapter that you've been waiting far too long for. My apologies again._

_Thank you to sarah12345, onyxrush707, TopKat90, Sirius Leigh, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, morning-hues, Escape my reality, pff401, shimmershadow30, Someone aka Me, EdwardAlways, JmacKarla, xx. michelle. moran. xx, and mediate89 for the great reviews last chapter! Wanna give it another go this time?  
_

_Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was, never will be. :(_

_

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_I stared at Sharon with my mouth gaping. Was I hallucinating? The prospect of Wanda leaving left me feeling more than a little empty. Perhaps I had gone insane. I would have thought so, but everyone else was staring at her as well.

"What?" I asked, hoping she would repeat something less bizarre. I didn't think it was possible for Sharon to have a shred of compassion in her body. Was I about to be proved wrong?

"Wanda and Ian should stay. So should Kyle and Sunny for that matter." Sharon looked smug as she suggested this. It was the first time all day I hadn't felt like slapping her. She was trying to help me keep Wanda here. Who would've thought the roles would reverse so completely and I would end up on the same side of this argument as Sharon?

Maggie looked absolutely horrified. Her face was contorted into an expression I hadn't known was physically possible. She looked as if Sharon has just punched her in the face. Which I guess she had, metaphorically speaking.

"No," Wanda insisted. "I won't stay here with you and I won't stay here if they shoot you either." She spoke directly to Sharon. I admired her confidence. She used to be so shy, now she was asserting herself and making sure her opinion was heard. For a brief moment I wished she was still the meek, hesitant soul she was in the beginning. I used to be able to bully her into almost anything. That would have made this situation much easier. I knew it wasn't right to wish I could bully her around but I was running out of options here. Something had to be done.

"Will you let me explain?" Sharon asked.

Wanda shrugged. "You can explain all you want but there's nothing that will change my mind."

Sharon frowned slightly before she started speaking to the whole group. "Wanda, Ian, Kyle, and Sunny should all stay. Wanda couldn't stay here with my mother and I, and I can respect that. She also wouldn't be able to live here if we are shot. I can't argue with that. I would prefer if I wasn't shot. So here is my proposal. What if my mother and I leave and never return? Would you allow us to live? Wanda, would you be willing to stay?"

Oh, she was good. She had this planned out brilliantly. We would not oppose this because we were getting what we wanted. And she would get what she wanted, her life. It seemed to be a win-win situation. It made me uneasy to know that they would be getting off much easier than even a punishment they would receive in the caves but I didn't have it in me to argue. This was best for everyone involved, Wanda especially. She couldn't argue this at all. Maggie and Sharon wouldn't be here and they would still be alive. Her only two conditions were met.

Maggie was looking less perturbed now. Apparently she was a supporter of any plan that left her with her life. She knew when to stay silent and let Sharon do her talking for her. Now was that time.

I nodded my head vigorously, and saw a few others doing the same. I looked over to Wanda and she was exchanging a relieved look with Ian. She didn't really want to leave. When it appeared that the majority was agreeing Jared stood up and started shaking his head.

"As good as this sounds in terms of Wanda's situation here I don't know if this is what's best for the rest of us." I narrowed my eyes at him. How dare he suggest that Wanda's best interests weren't the same as the rest of the group? I began mentally packing my belongings and planning to move in with Lily for a few days until I cooled off. He was going to get it later for this.

"What do you mean?" Ian questioned, speaking up for the first time.

Jared held his hands up like he meant no offense. "I'm treating Wanda like any other occupant here. Would we let anyone else hijack a tribunal so completely? What happened to her was horrible but she shouldn't get to set procedure." I was still angry. He thought Wanda didn't deserve special treatment? She was almost murdered. And this was the second time. She deserved a little bit of preferential treatment. "While I would be extremely sad to see her go, I think that the possibility of being discovered increases exponentially if Maggie and Sharon are allowed to leave."

I understood this but I didn't have to like it. I knew that Maggie and Sharon were a liability outside of the caves but that didn't mean that we should allow Wanda and Ian to leave.

"Why would Maggie and Sharon leaving be any more of a problem than Kyle and Sunny?" Trudy asked.

Jared didn't respond at first. After carefully picking his words he began. "Maggie and Sharon will undoubtedly hold a grudge. Do we really want them on the outside with all that bitterness? They view us as the enemy for associating with souls. What assurance do we have that they won't turn us in at their first opportunity?"

It was Maggie who spoke up now. "I would never do that. As much as I hate those parasite-lovers," she growled shooting a scathing glance to Kyle and Sunny. "There is nothing that would make me take away the life of a human, no matter how much I hated them. And they will never get me alive." She tapped the pocket of her pants that held the pill we keep for just such an occasion. She was the only one that carried her pill around in the caves. She never felt safe. Her paranoia helped to make her argument.

Trudy nodded, feeling confident that Maggie was telling the truth. I couldn't say I disagreed. Maggie may hate us but she wouldn't want to see us captured. The thought of any human being made a host was so repulsive to her that she wouldn't even consider it. I felt certain that they were no more of a liability outside of the caves than Kyle would be.

In fact, they were probably less of a liability since Kyle had just expressed his desire to have a soul inserted to make Sunny happy. Would he allow that to happen if he had no other escape? Would he become a host instead of facing his death? If he did have a soul inserted, would that soul come after us? Or would Sunny be able to convince him not too? I didn't want to take that chance.

I searched the group and everyone seemed to be convinced. Most were willing to do anything to get Wanda to stay, while the rest didn't want to lose Ian after they'd just lost Kyle. They were our 'muscle'. If we ever needed some intimidation, they were the ones that we called. I wouldn't argue with that reasoning. We didn't have to agree for the same reason, we just had to agree.

"Can we just take a vote?" Maggie prompted irritably. Apparently she was in a hurry to find out if she was going to die or not.

"Those for Maggie and Sharon leaving so Wanda and Ian will stay?" Jared asked. I raised my hand immediately, followed by most of the others. Jared nodded. "Those opposed?"

I saw more hands go up than I expected but not enough to make a majority. Mostly they were more concerned for their safety with Maggie and Sharon out there than Wanda and Ian.

Jared sighed loudly. "Okay, I guess Maggie and Sharon are going to be leaving and Wanda and Ian will be staying." He seemed less than enthused. I was still angry at him.

"Kyle and Sunny will also be staying, right?" Wanda asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Jared shook his head. "No, we've already decided on this. Kyle knew what the penalty was for attacking either of you and he allowed it to happen. He's out."

To my surprise Ian stood up and addressed the group. "I know that I shouldn't have any say right now, but I would like to speak for my brother." A few people stared at him, wondering why he was just now speaking, but I knew the answer. He'd wanted to speak for Kyle in the first place. He knew that Kyle wasn't going to harm anyone. And he understood what it was like to fall in love with someone you never expected. The brothers had a much stronger bond now and I knew that the only reason Ian would have agreed to go with Wanda so quickly was that he would stay with Kyle. As much as he hated to admit it, he loved his brother and wanted to protect him.

"You had your chance," Jared informed him. "You weren't here."

I couldn't believe how insensitive Jared was being. He was letting this power go to his head. Thankfully, Trudy was there to put him in his place. "I think we should at least hear what he has to say."

Jared glared but nodded once, signally that he was backing down. I was glad. He was being completely pig-headed.

Ian started speaking again. "Kyle is an ass. We all know that." Way to be blunt Ian. "However, he is also a man of honor. If he gives his word he won't go back on it. But I'll do you one better. I'll give you my word that Kyle will never again be a threat to anyone in the caves again. If he goes back on his word I will stand with him at his tribunal, willing to take any punishment you give him for myself as well. I would like to ask all of you to raise your hand and allow Kyle to stay and live among us."

I knew that Wanda had put him up to this. She knew that no one would be able to resist Ian arguing for Kyle. But I also knew that Ian spoke from the heart. And it was his sincerity that softened my heart. I now hoped that Kyle and Sunny would be staying. I hoped that Sunny and I would continue to build on the bond that we formed today. And I knew that I would miss Kyle's crazy antics, whether I was willing to admit it or not.

I raised my hand slowly and Jared looked at me incredulously. I gave him a sheepish smile but kept my hand high. I had every right to vote however I pleased, not just according to his views. His mouth pulled down into a frown as he saw more hands going up. It looked to be a close margin. Trudy started counting.

"It looks like it is dead even without Jared, Jamie, and I," she stated. Jared was opposed and Jamie was in favor. She was the deciding vote. She took a deep breath and weighed the pros and cons as thoroughly as possible.

Finally she looked up at us. "I think Kyle should be allowed to stay."

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_A/N: There it is. Everyone's fate is decided. Those are the final decisions. There will be no more dealing and haggling for someone's life._

_Thanks for all the great reviews and remember to review this chapter too!_


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N: Here I am, apologizing yet again. First apology. Apparently the last chapter had an air of finality to it. Not quite yet. There's still one more thing I want to explore. Second apology. This past week has been the week from hell so I had absolutely no time to write. But now that it is over I don't have much to do next week and the week after that is spring break. So I'll have more time to write. Only 2 or 3 more chapters to go.  
_

_Thank you yet again to my extraordinarily awesome reviewers. You guys rock! JmacKarla, pff401, Love Ian, TK-MR, xx. michelle. moran. xx, onyxrush707, EdwardAlways, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, morning-hues, sarah12345, mediate89, vamipre's kisses 4 me, Someone aka Me, shimmershadow30, TopKat90, staplerrr Madge xD, Sirius Leigh, and Amimelover231.  
_

_Disclaimer: I just wanted to let you know that I don't own this. In case you were wondering._

* * *

_Chapter 25 Recap:_

_"It looks like it is dead even without Jared, Jamie, and I," Trudy stated. Jared was opposed and Jamie was in favor. She was the deciding vote. She took a deep breath and weighed the pros and cons as thoroughly as possible._

_Finally she looked up at us. "I think Kyle should be allowed to stay."_

Chapter 26

I breathed a sigh of relief. Kyle and Sunny were staying. Maggie and Sharon were leaving. Wanda had no excuse to leave. She would be staying. I smiled widely, knowing I would not be parted from my sister.

As I scanned the room almost everyone seemed at the very least content with the decisions that had been made. All except for Jared. Jared looked angrier than ever. Apparently he hadn't thought through the idea of a council. He wasn't always going to get his way. That fact seemed to be just now dawning on him. His mouth turned down into a frown and he pouted like a child.

I rolled my eyes at him. He was being extremely immature. Just because Jeb trusted him he thought we would all follow him blindly? I had news for him. I loved him more than life itself and even I sometimes thought he was full of shit. I could only imagine how everyone else was taking his moping.

I decided to ignore it. He had gone through this sulking phase before. It usually didn't last long. Eventually he would realize that he was on a power trip and that he was being ridiculous trying keep Kyle out.

People were milling about and it sounded like they were picking teams for soccer. That could be a fun time. Aaron and Andy had taken up a stance on either side of Maggie and Sharon, waiting for instructions. Jared walked over to them and directed them out, no doubt making Maggie and Sharon pack their things. The sooner they were gone, the better.

Wanda and Sunny were both excited, jumping up into Ian's and Kyle's arms respectively. Kyle held Sunny tightly and appeared to be overwhelmed. Ian had spoken for him. He glanced over at his brother and they shared a wordless look as they held their loves close. I sighed at the sweetness they both exuded toward their women. Their mother had taught them well.

Then I turned my attention back to the thorn in my side that was Jared. He was looking crossly at Kyle and Ian, sizing them up. I walked to his side and took his hand in mine. He gave me a rueful smile and his best puppy dog eyes. I had to concentrate to keep from falling for his act. He knew without a doubt that I would be angry at him for not taking Wanda's side. No amount of looking cute was going to fix that situation. He was just going to have to apologize. And apologizing did not come easy to him. In fact, I would probably have to drag it out of him, prompting him as he went along. But that was better than nothing. He would never say anything that he didn't mean, whether it was his original thought or not.

I pursed my lips at him and faced him, squaring my shoulders. "Interesting vote," I commented.

"Yeah," he replied looking past me. I glance over my shoulder but he wasn't looking at anything. He was just _not_ looking at me. He was going to pay.

"Would you care to share with me why you voted the way that you did?" I asked with little irritation as possible.

"Not really."

I narrowed my eyes and stepped to the side, directly in his eye line. "Either we can talk about this now or we can talk about this later. Personally, I'd rather talk now. I had some other plans of what we could be doing later, but if you insist on dragging this out then I'll stay with Lily tonight."

"Come on Mel. Don't be like that."

"How else should I be, Jared? Wanda and Ian were all set to leave and you were practically pushing them out the door. Even if you don't care about Wanda, you should at least pretend to care about me and my feelings."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the group. "Well excuse me!" he whispered angrily. "I'm sorry I didn't consider your feelings because I was too concerned with your safety." I rolled my eyes and started to walk away but he kept hold on my arm. His voice softened as he continued. "You know I love Wanda. But she's not the one I'm concerned about. If there is any possibility that you could be in danger then there is never a doubt in my mind. I won't lose you again."

His intensity told me he was serious. I sighed. It was impossible to argue with him when he thought I was in danger. There would be nothing I could do or say to convince him otherwise. He would have to wait and see for himself. And Jared wasn't the most patient person I knew.

"The decision is made. It's just something you have to live with now."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know. I'm trying, it's just hard. I'm worried that Maggie and Sharon are going to get caught. It's been a long time since they were on the outside. I don't like having to trust him."

He looked down and I knew what I had to do. As much as I hated it, it had to come from me. "Why don't you take Maggie and Sharon to Nate's yourself?" I suggested. He would never have proposed this himself, not wanting to leave me. I knew it had to be done. He wouldn't be able to calm down until he knew that they weren't a danger to us. To me. He had to go.

He nodded and I gripped his hand in mine. "You should take Andy with you. You can leave while it's still dark."

He nodded again and kissed me on the cheek. "Why don't you go tell Doc what happened? I'll see you again before I leave." He left the room to gather his things.

I looked to Wanda but she was still wrapped in Ian's arms. He looked so purely happy, such a contrast from even two hours earlier. I was glad that Wanda hadn't seen that. No one should ever see their partner so dejected. It appeared that they were not going to separate anytime soon.

Jamie glanced over at me from where he was talking to Trudy. He looked so grown up. "I'm going to talk to Doc," I announced, then exited the game room.

It was strange to walk through the corridors knowing that I would not run into anyone. I took the opportunity to run full out, unafraid to crash into anyone. I was sick of running with urgency. I wanted to run just to feel the stretch of my muscles.

I reached the hospital and found Doc sprawled out in the far corner. He looked restless, tossing and turning as I walked toward him. I had no reservations about waking him. He would want to hear what I had to say.

I shook his shoulder lightly. "Doc?" He stirred slightly but didn't open his eyes. "Doc?" I asked as I shook him again.

He cracked his eye to look at me. His expression became doleful. "Is it over?"

I took his hand. "Yes."

His eyes welled up and spilled over. "Is everything….taken care of?" he asked, choosing his words.

I nodded again.

"I didn't hear a shot," he mused, speaking more to himself than me.

I suddenly realized what he thought had happened. "Oh, Doc! Sharon is fine. She just got kicked out. Wanda wouldn't allow us to do anything to her."

His eyes searched mine as if waiting for me to tell him that it was all a sick joke. That I was just stringing him along as a punishment for loving Sharon in the first place. I closed my eyes, hurt that he would think that of me. True, I had never understood his relationship with Sharon, but many relationships looked different to those on the inside. I would not judge him.

As Doc accepted my words his expression was one of intense relief. He let out a ragged breath and steadied himself with both hands on the side of his cot. He let out an almost maniacal laugh. "That's….umm, wow," he chuckled. He was shocked. But happily so.

His expression turned solemn again as he looked up at me. "I think I have to go with her."

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_A/N: If you review I will be eternally grateful._


	27. Chapter 27

_A/N: Yay, FanFic is finally working again! I'd been going through withdrawal, let me tell you! I've been waiting to post this since Saturday night. But it's here now!  
_

_Thank you once again to the best reviewers in the world! mediate89, vampire's kisses 4 me, Animelover231, paper. creations, JmacKarla, Love Ian, sarah12345, TK-MR, shimmershadow30, EdwardAlways, onyxrush707, morning-hues, and xXxTwilightfan93xXx!!! Thank you guys so much!_

_Disclaimer: To draw inspiration from Master Yoda: Not mine, the Host is. So I guess I better say that Star Wars isn't mine too, huh?_

* * *

_Chapter 26 Recap:_

_As Doc accepted my words his expression was one of intense relief. He let out a ragged breath and steadied himself with both hands on the side of his cot. He let out an almost maniacal laugh. "That's…umm, wow," he chuckled. He was shocked. But happily so._

_His expression turned solemn again as he looked up at me. "I think I have to go with her."_

Chapter 27

"What?" I questioned. "Sorry, could you repeat that? I must have heard you wrong."

He shook his head. "No, you heard me right. I know this sounds crazy but I have to go. I have to be with her, wherever she is."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. After all of this, everything that Sharon had done, he still couldn't see the person she really was. He was blinded by what he thought was love. If she truly loved him she wouldn't have done something she knew he disapproved of. I had to convince him of this.

I couldn't think of any argument to make that wasn't hurtful to him. I could talk about what happened to Wanda and make him feel like shit for not warning anyone. I could have said that she'd been this way since she was young but then that would mean that he had been blind to her evils long before I had arrived here. I could have said a lot of things but I held my tongue. He didn't need to hear these things from me. He already knew.

"I know you love her." I winced as I said it out loud. I wanted to tell him I wished he didn't but I knew it wouldn't help. You can't help who you love. "But we need you here."

He inhaled sharply and looked pained. "Please don't try to make me feel guilty. Please don't. I feel bad enough already."

Then I remembered something else I had to inform him of. Hopefully this would help sway him.

"There's one more thing I had to tell you about. While we were at the tribunal the first thing we discussed was who was going to be in charge without Jeb. Your name was suggested." He started shaking his head but I continued before he could cut me off. "We decided on having a council instead of just one person in charge. And you're on it. You, Jared, Trudy, & Jamie. So you can't leave. You have your place here. And your role just got bigger."

Okay, I may have played the guilt card a little bit, but I was pulling out all the stops. He couldn't leave. What would we do without him here?

He looked truly contemplative. He was considering staying. I remained silent, allowing him to keep thinking. The more he thought about leaving us the more he would realize that we would not be able to get along without him.

"I just…." he trailed off. "I don't know what to do." He held his head in his hands. I rubbed his back but chose to remain silent. There was no easy way to decide between love and his obligation to the rest of us. He was agonizing and I could feel the indecision rolling off of him in waves. He sat there for what felt like hours, before he took a deep breath. He exhaled loudly then lifted his head, looking across the room at the far wall. "I have to talk to her."

"I don't know if that's the best idea."

"No, Melanie. I have to talk to her. She has to know why I'm staying."

My eyes lit up. "So you're staying?"

He pulled his mouth into a frown. "It would appear so. But not until I talk to her."

I nodded. Of course he would have to talk to her. He hadn't seen her since before all of this started. He hadn't even confronted her about her actions with Wanda yet. I knew Jared would be looking for me soon, and hopefully he would have Sharon and Maggie with him. They would probably take just head out from the tunnel in the hospital. It was the closet to the Jeep and the less time Maggie and Sharon spent out in the open the better.

We waited for about fifteen minutes before we heard a commotion coming down the corridor. Apparently Maggie and Sharon weren't coming quietly. I wasn't surprised. I could hear Maggie's voice echoing down the hall.

"This is cruel! Why couldn't we just go out the other way? She doesn't want to see him!"

I closed my eyes, pained for Doc. Sharon didn't want to see him. Obviously she wasn't over his insubordination of her wishes. I found myself momentarily happy but squashed it down quickly. I shouldn't be excited that Doc's heart was being broken. But when it was so obvious she didn't want him, it would be much easier for him to stay here.

Doc stood from next to me and went to stand in the corner farthest from the door. He faced into the wall and crossed his arms in an effort to completely ignore Sharon's presence when she entered the room.

I wasn't sure how to handle it. He had said he wanted to talk to her but if she had no interest in talking to him I could at least spare him the heartache of having to see her. I would tell Jared to take them out the other way. I ran quickly out of the room and barreled right into Jared. They were closer than I thought.

Jared was leading the way followed by Sharon then Maggie, with Andy bringing up the rear. The women were both holding large sacks containing whatever possessions they could wedge inside. Maggie looked nothing more than annoyed but Sharon looked truly hurt. She didn't look annoyed or angry. She looked terrified. She was afraid of seeing a look of hate on Doc's face as a result of her actions. She loved him too.

I hated to do it, but I knew they had to say goodbye to each other. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Doc thought Sharon hated him. I could have cared less about Sharon, but Doc should know that the time he spent with Sharon wasn't completely in vain. She loved him. And the ability to be loved is just as important as the ability to love.

"Doc wants to talk to Sharon," I told Jared. He looked at me skeptically. I leaned in closer, not wanting Sharon to know why. "He was thinking about going with her. He needs to see that she's going to be okay."

Jared nodded and stepped to the side allowing Sharon room to pass. She didn't move, terror rooting her to her spot. "Let's go," I prompted, aggravated. She sighed and dropped her bag, shuffling slowly into the room.

I followed behind, knowing they would need my help to get things going. Neither was going to break the silence first.

"Doc?" I asked. Silence. His arms tightened around himself and he had no intention of turning around. "Doc, please talk to Sharon." He tilted his head up and stuck his chin out, being obstinate. He was acting like a child.

I watched as Sharon took a few steps forward. She looked miserable. Her cheeks were tearstained and her arms were crossed over her chest like she was trying to hold herself together. She walked up next to Doc and put a hand on his arm.

"Please, E?" she requested. "Please talk to me?" I'd never heard her address Doc as E. I guess it was what she had always called him but her term of endearment for his first name just struck me. She was in love with him. Somehow, in that single letter, I saw the depth of her love for him. She was just as love-struck with him as I was for Jared. For her to leave thinking he hated her would be heart-wrenching. Not that she didn't deserve something heart-wrenching. But no one deserved pain like that. Not ever Sharon.

Doc closed his eyes and bit on his lower lip, trying to keep calm as he turned to face Sharon. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to speak.

She sighed. "I'm so sorry, E. I never meant to hurt you." She ran her hand up and down his arm as she tried to make eye contact. He avoided her gaze and shrugged her hand off.

"I just want to know why," he whispered. "Why you did it after I told you what a bad idea it was? Why did you go along with it?" The pain seeped into his voice. He wanted to know why she hadn't realized that this _would_ hurt him.

"I did it for you," she breathed, reaching a hand out again.

He swatted her arm away angrily. "For me? What could this possibly have to do with me? You're trying to blame me for this? That's low, even for you," he spat at her.

"Don't you understand? I did it to keep you safe! Nothing else matters to me except you. I didn't do it because my mother wanted me to. I did it because I knew you would be safer in the end. So you can hate me if you want. But there is nothing that you can say to make me regret trying to protect you. Yes, I went about it the wrong way. I realize that. I just wanted to do anything and everything to make sure that nothing bad would happen to you." Tears were streaming down her cheeks and I was aware that my presence was inappropriate. I stepped back out of the room to give them their privacy as Doc stepped forward and pulled Sharon into his arms to comfort her.

Jared and Andy were sitting on one side of the corridor, a few feet down from the doorway, while Maggie sat on the other side. She was craning her neck, trying to hear what was going on inside. I was glad that Jared had moved further back down the hall. I wanted to give Sharon and Doc their privacy. I sat next to Jared and took his hand in mine.

"They're saying goodbye," I informed him. He squeezed my hand and leaned his head back against the rock. It had been a long day and he wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. Maybe he would rest at Nate's for a little while. Though I wanted him back as quickly as possible, I knew that travelling while he was so tired could lead to mistakes. I would remember to make him take some Awake with him.

I rested my head on his shoulder and stroked his arm, hoping to make him as comfortable as possible as we waited for Doc and Sharon to emerge.

After what felt like ages, Doc and Sharon emerged from the hospital hand in hand, their fingers intertwined. If possible, Sharon looked worse. She looked as though she had cried enough tears for ten people, though the smile on her face could have fooled anyone. Her grin was as apparent as Doc's chagrin. He looked truly embarrassed to be in front of us.

Before he spoke I knew what he was going to say. "I'm going with Sharon," he said almost casually.

"Why Doc?" Jared questioned.

His answer was simple. "Because I love her."

**********

Doc packed his things quickly and left with Jared. He decided not to say goodbye to everyone, knowing that he would not be able to leave if they started trying to talk him out of it. He was doing something for himself for once. I didn't fault him for that.

After I saw them off I wandered slowly through the caves, not looking forward to sleeping alone. I could feel my lids beginning to droop as I entered the main room. My feet carried me unwittingly down the corridor toward my bed. As I walked I saw a figure slumped over in front of the screen leading into my cave, sleeping.

"Jamie?" I asked, crouching over next to him. He stirred and raised his head, stretching his arms above him.

"Hey Mel," he grunted. "Where's Jared?"

"He took Maggie and Sharon to Nate's. He's gone until tomorrow night."

Jamie nodded and yawned. "Okay, I just wanted to ask him something. I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed." He stood and started tiredly shuffling toward his room, dreading another night with Aaron's snoring and Brandt's kicking.

"Why don't you stay with me tonight?" I suggested.

"Really? Sweet. Thanks Mel." He put his arm around my shoulders and I was unnerved that he didn't have to reach up. He was getting much too tall.

We walked into the room and both quickly collapsed onto the bed. I was near sleep when Jamie started speaking again.

"Thanks for letting me stay in here tonight Mel. I might actually get some sleep for once."

"Of course Jamie," I said, remembering my previous promise to him. "And don't worry, I'm still trying to figure out a place for you to move to."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to Jared about," he said. "I was thinking…" He trailed off unsure of how to continue. "What if I move into Jeb's room?"

I contemplated it for a second. "That sounds like a great idea."

Jamie squeezed my hand. "Awesome."

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_A/N: I managed to fit all of this into one chapter so that means just one more to go. I hope to have it up in the next few days._

_There are about 25 of you who have this story on alert but haven't reviewed. You know who you are. So now, I'm giving you fair warning. Psyche yourselves up, because I'm expecting reviews from all of you for the last chapter. You have a few days to emotionally prepare yourselves. Get ready. Or just review this one and the next one. That would be pretty sweet too._


	28. Epilogue

_A/N: Thank you to EdwardAlways, Escape my reality, onyxrush707, mediate89, Wilty, TK-MR, sarah12345, xXxTwilightfan93xXx, JmacKarla, Animelover231, Someone aka Me, shimmershadow30, cajun panda, daniellamorella, TopKat90, vampire's kisses 4 me, and dayys for reviewing! Enjoy the finale, it's the longest chapter of the whole story!_

_Disclaimer: The Host isn't mine. However, if SM decides to kill off Jeb in a sequel, I will definitely be saying 'it was my idea first'. And that's payment enough for me._

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Epilogue

"Come on Mel, it's time to go!" I heard Jamie yell. He was getting impatient, but he was just going to have to wait. I was saying goodbye to Jared, and with the way his fingers were drumming on the small of my back, it was going to be a little while more. I leaned in to kiss his neck and he groaned and shifted back.

"You need to get going."

I shook my head. "No, we still have time," I argued, leaning back in.

I darted my tongue out, savoring the taste of his skin. If I wasn't going to see him for a month I needed something to get me through.

Andy, Kyle, Sunny, Jamie, and I were in the process of leaving to raid. We'd been low on everything for almost a month but had been waiting for things to return to normal before we left. We finally realized a few days ago that things would never be the same again. We would have to find a new 'normal'.

Jeb was gone, taking with him the glue that held our group together. Cliques were a little more defined now. Almost as though we were dividing into political parties. Each group could be depended on to voice certain opinions whenever we had a meeting. Jeb had travelled effortlessly between groups, keeping us all mindful of why we had to do the things that we did. It was rough trying to keep the peace with no single person to be the voice of reason. Conflicts escalated more quickly now and it seemed we were having meetings every other day. It was getting exhausting.

We also missed Jeb's presence for his escape plan. No one knew except for him where we would go if we ever had to evacuate. He thought that the less people knew about a place the better, so he kept it to himself. If we ever had need to escape, we would be out of luck. No one had any idea where we would go. So we were having to work even harder at keeping a low profile while we systematically explored the surrounding area. We were pretty sure it was close but we had so far been unsuccessful. It was starting to get frustrating.

I felt Jared's arms running up my sides and I knew he was getting his self-control back, about to push me away and make me leave. I wasn't ready to let go yet and I moved my hand to the side of his neck, rubbing it back and forth as I brought my lips back to his. He relaxed slightly and allowed me to continue. I knew him too well, this was almost too easy.

Jared wasn't coming on the raid with us. He, Trudy, and Jamie had discussed it at length and decided that only one of them was needed. And for some reason Jared had decided that Jamie should go and he should stay. At least Jared had made it clear that Kyle was going to be in charge on the raid. Jamie had been put off by that a little bit but Jared explained it was only because Kyle had more experience raiding. Jamie accepted it, but made it clear that he wasn't going to play a supporting role forever. That angered me to no end I couldn't say no. I was supposed to be treating him like an adult now. I had to keep reminding myself he wasn't a little kid anymore. Somehow I knew '_he's not a baby_' would be my mantra while on this raid.

We didn't plan to be gone long. Two or three weeks, probably. Just restocking, the same thing we had been doing for months with Wanda, though now I was the one doing the shopping. Sunny would be with me of course but she was oddly paranoid that someone would suspect. Kyle and Wanda had tried to talk her out of this more than once. She was a soul. Had she ever suspected? She knew the answer was no but that didn't help her calm down much, so we decided we would only use her places where we needed two sets of hands. She seemed to accept this and was less anxious.

Sunny was much more a part of the community now. She had warmed up to me considerably and she wasn't afraid to leave Kyle's shadow anymore. Not that he ever let her out of his sight. He was now the one following like a lost puppy. I enjoyed their role reversal but I wasn't exactly looking forward to spending a month in a cramped van with the two of them. Now that they knew they were in love they were sickeningly sweet and constantly all over each other. Even if Jared was going to be there with me they would probably get on my nerves. Without him, I had a feeling I was going to get pushed over the edge.

"MEL!" I heard Jamie yelling. He was getting impatient. We really did need to leave as soon as possible or we wouldn't get to the cars before it was light out. I was vainly hoping that time would slow down and I could stay with Jared a little while longer.

He pulled back and put his hands on my hips, effectively keeping me back. "You need to go Mel."

I groaned. "I know. I know," I grumbled as I bent down and grabbed my back from the floor.

"Melanie if you are not out here in two minutes I am coming in there, I don't care what I see!" Jamie shouted down the hall.

I laughed and started out but stopped when Jared put his hand on my wrist. "The kid said we had two more minutes," he said with a devious smile. I couldn't argue with that. I dropped my bag and flung myself back into his arms, knocking him backwards onto the bed. Jamie really shouldn't have given us more time.

After what felt like the shortest two minutes of my life, Jamie was standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest. "Disengage," he commanded sternly. For some reason Jared and I both reacted like we had been caught making out in the locker room after lunch. We both let go and our gazes dropped to the ground, guilty.

Jamie chuckled. "Wow, if I would have known it was that easy I would have come down here a long time ago."

I rolled my eyes and picked up my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. I squeezed Jared hand then followed Jamie out. "Be careful," Jared called after me. "I'll be waiting for you to get back," he promised with a smirk. I smiled and Jamie rolled his eyes. I was about to step back and give him one more kiss goodbye when Jamie grabbed my wrist and started dragging me away.

"We need to leave sometime this month Mel," he complained.

"We're leaving now aren't we?" I pointed out.

He gave me a small smile. "No thanks to you," he joked.

As we passed Wanda and Ian's room, the red door pulled back and I saw Wanda standing in the doorway, looking remorseful.

"I thought I heard you coming," she said. "Finally," she added with a smile. I laughed and she stepped forward and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry I'm not going with you."

"No you're not," I countered.

"You're right, I'm not," she laughed. "But I'll miss you anyway. Be safe."

She went back into the room and as Jamie and I continued down the hall Ian passed us, moving quickly, only giving us a "Bye guys," as he continued into his room quickly. Then I heard a loud giggle. Ian had discovered his newfound appreciation of Wanda's body. They probably weren't going to leave their room for the entire month. And I would be off raiding with Kyle and Sunny, the wonder-couple. That made me jealous as hell.

We met Kyle, Sunny, and Andy at the end of the hall and they were looking just as impatient as Jamie was. I tried to look remorseful that I had held everything up, but they could tell I wasn't really sorry.

"Are we finally ready then?" Kyle asked. I shot him a look, as did Sunny. Apparently his sarcasm was not something she approved of. Kyle immediately looked shyly at her before looking back at me. "Sorry Mel."

His apologies still floored me. It had been a month since he had realized his feeling for Sunny his personality had done a complete turnaround. Most of the time I couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. He was so sweet and considerate now. I knew most of it was because he didn't want Sunny to be mad at him, but the motivations didn't matter. Just the results.

"Okay, let's go then," Kyle said, heading off down the storage corridor.

Jamie stopped before we made it too far. "Did anyone grab any Heal?"

We all looked at each other, but it appeared no one had gotten any. Taking Heal on raid had become commonplace after Jamie had gotten injured. We liked to stop problems before they started now.

Jamie shook his head. "Am I the only one who pays attention to the details?" he asked with fake exasperation.

Kyle groaned but turned around. "All right, I guess we can just go out through the hospital," he grunted. I smirked. It was always a good time to watch Kyle try to fit through the crawlspace outside. His shoulders were just a bit too wide, so he had to turn to the side and struggle through. I had to start working on my poker face now. He wouldn't like me laughing as hard as I would surely want to.

We made our way to the hospital and as we drew closer we saw there was a light on. It seemed odd considering the time of night. We had expected everyone else to be in bed, or at least heading in that direction. Then I heard a giggle.

Sunny was in front and stopped, causing Kyle to run into her and almost knock her down. He looked at her apologetically as she motioned for him to be quiet. We stood for another moment and heard another giggle, this time louder than the first. I cast a side-long glance at Jamie who shrugged his shoulders.

There was someone in the hospital. Actually there were probably two people. One who was being funny and another who was laughing. After standing there staring at each other Andy sighed and pushed forward, walking straight into the hospital.

As he entered the room his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He composed himself quickly and cleared his throat. Whoever was in there made a startled squeak and Andy turned to leave. "I'll give you a minute," he said as he walked back to us.

"Who was it?" I whispered.

He shook his head like he was trying to make sure it wasn't going to explode. "Candy and…..Heath."

Whoa. That was surprising. I hadn't seen that one coming.

We stood there awkwardly for a few minutes until Candy came and stood in the doorway.

"I thought you said you were going out the other exit," she said sweetly, as if nothing had happened.

Kyle closed his eyes briefly, no doubt scrubbing away an unwanted mental image, before he answered. "We were, but we forgot to grab some Heal before we left."

"Oh, okay. Well come on in and I'll grab you some." We followed her inside and she opened the cabinet stocked with all of the medical supplies. Heath was sitting on one of the cots looking sheepish as we passed. I tried not to look at him and make him feel more uncomfortable. I was glad that they were happy.

Candy had taken over Doc's place as the Healer here in the caves. She wasn't quite as good as Doc had been, not having been to actual medical school, but she did quite well. She remembered most of what Summer Song had known about healing and let us know about other things she thought would be helpful for us to get while we were raiding.

She'd had her first big test last week. It was barely anything. Freedom had a cough, deep in his lungs and it wasn't going away. She had him inhale the Inside Clean and gave him a strip of Cool and he was perfect again.

We still missed Doc greatly. He wasn't just our doctor. He was our friend. He was a big part of the glue that held our group together. Everyone trusted Doc. It wasn't that anyone distrusted Candy; she just hadn't been around long enough. She was proving her worth now.

We'd discovered, however, that no one missed Maggie and Sharon. I was pretty smug about that. Lily had taken over Sharon place as teacher and Jamie was raving about her. Apparently she not only knew what she was talking about, but she could make it interesting too. I was glad that Jamie was still interested in school. I would have hated for him to stop just because he didn't like Sharon.

We decided not to fill Doc's space in the council. It would work better with three people anyway. No ties. We just couldn't bring ourselves to replace him. If we had done it, it would be as if he had never existed. It broke my heart to know that I would probably never see him again. Jared had made it clear that he was invited back whenever he wanted as long as Sharon wasn't with him. Doc had politely refused, as I had expected.

Candy smiled as she picked out a big tub of Heal. She handed it to me, along with a couple of bottles of Clean and a tube of Seal. I wedged them into my already overfull bag then stood up, ready to go.

"Alright, I guess it's time to go," Kyle said, trying to break the awkward silence that had overtaken us since we had entered the room. We all nodded and started for the back corner and the crawlspace hidden in the darkened shadows.

Sunny hung back as we all stepped forward. Jamie went through the tunnel first, followed by Andy. Next we pushed Kyle through. I'd decided to go after him so he couldn't see my face when he got stuck. It was good decision too; he was stuck for almost a full minute. As I was about to crawl through the hole I looked back for Sunny who was still standing next to Candy.

She put her arms around Candy and hugged her tightly. "Congratulations," she said. "It's a great feeling isn't it?"

Candy nodded. "The best."

I pushed myself into the hole, smiling happily for Candy and Heath. It appeared that even though things in the caves were very different, things were still the same. Love was still blooming between the inhabitants. Maybe Candy and Heath were proving that no matter how altered the circumstances, we would get through this. That we would carry on as before.

I couldn't help but smile widely as I pulled myself out of the hole on the other side. We were going to be okay. No matter how different things got to be, as long as we loved each other, everything would turn out okay.

I stood up dragged my bag to the jeep. I threw it in the back and climbed in the backseat next to Jamie. Kyle was driving with Sunny in the passenger seat. Andy climb in on the other side of Jamie and we were off. As we got closer to the vans my heart rate increased considerably. My adrenaline was pumping and I could barely stay in my seat.

This was the most fun I'd had in a long time, but though we had barely started I could barely wait to get back. Not just to Jared. Not to Wanda either. I wanted to revel in my new found love for my community. We were what the souls feared. Humans who were happy and thriving. I loved that feeling. We were rebels. But we were also a family. I loved my family of rebels. And I couldn't wait to get back to them.

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_A/N: So there it is. The end of this story. I'm sad to see it end. I hate to be a disappointment, but there will be no sequel. I have a few other projects I'd like to focus on instead. If I continued it, there would just be lots of fluff with no real plot. So I'm saving those ideas to be used in future stories._

_I'm going to take a couple of weeks off from posting anything. Once I'm back to writing m__y next priority will be to continue with Unexpected Blessing, which I have posted the prologue for. I am also working on a sequel to A Million Reasons. It will be nice to work on something that's lighthearted after the angst of this story. And finally, I have about 5 Twilight ideas swirling around in my head. Most are one-shots that I'm not sure how to write. We'll see if I ever manage to write them._

_Thank you once again for reading this story. It was so much more successful than I ever could have imagined. It's true, I have the best readers ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you!_

_And here's my request one final time: REVIEW!!!_


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